


It's Only Love

by xxenjoy



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Dad!Dean, Dean is an awesome uncle, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Museum AU, POV Dean, SO MUCH FLUFF, Tour Guide Cas, but also porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-10
Updated: 2014-05-10
Packaged: 2018-01-24 06:46:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1595477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxenjoy/pseuds/xxenjoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Just call me Supernanny," Dean joked, the grin spreading wider across his face, "I can be by to pick them up in about fifteen. We're heading to the museum, so I can stop by on the way."</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Only Love

**Author's Note:**

> It's finally done! I wasn't expecting this to be so long... I just wanted a short little thing and then this happened.
> 
> Special thanks to FlailingZombie for sending me pictures of Dean crying to motivate me to write the sad bit. Also for   
> re-re-reading this with me and helping me edit because I think my brain would have exploded without help XD

Everything started a week after Dean arrived back in Kansas. Sam, geek that he was, had decided to introduce his daughter to the Discovery Channel and ever since he had set foot in their house, Dean was being climbed on and having everything explained to him by an overly enthusiastic kindergartener. Sam had just laughed and said _she's just happy to see you_ , but he and Jess had fallen into the same trap as soon as Dean had left the room. 

He was sitting in their living room one morning, bouncing Mary on his knee while she giggled and sang along to the Dragon Tales ending theme. Sam stumbled into the room, still half asleep with a cup of coffee in his hand. 

"Daddy's lazy," Dean grinned, keeping an eye on his brother. Mary giggled and squirmed on his knee.

"Hi Daddy."

"Daddy's _tired_ and Uncle Dean is a terrible influence," Sam grinned back, then added with a kiss to Mary's head, "mornin' sweetheart."

"So what's the plan for the day?" Dean asked

"Actually I was gonna ask you if you're able to look after her for the day," he grumbled, rubbing a hand through his hair, "some emergency's come up and they need me in the office 'yesterday'" he mocked, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, 'course. What do you think?" he asked, leaning around to face the little girl, "wanna hang out with me today?" she nodded, eyes still on the TV and Dean laughed, "that's my girl."

"Thank you," Sam sighed, "I'm gonna be like ten minutes and I'm gone," he leaned down again to brush a giant hand over Mary's head, "bye Baby, you have fun with Uncle Dean okay?"

"Mmhm," she smiled, reaching up to kiss his nose, "bye Daddy."

Sam clapped a hand on Dean's shoulder as turned out of the room. Dean scooped Mary off his lap, flicking the TV off before a new show started. He swooped her into the air over his head and she giggled, squealing as she tried to touch the ceiling.

"So, what are we gonna do today, Mini Mom?"

She crinkled her nose in a smile, "museum!" 

"Museum, huh? How come?" He rested her on his hip, tilting back to look at her.

"I wanna go see the Woolly Mammoth. Daddy took me to see them before."

"Alright, museum it is then, go grab your coat, I'll let your Dad know we're going."

Just as she scurried away, Dean's cell buzzed in his pocket, and he answered without looking at the display, "hey."

"Oh thank God. Dean, please tell me you're not busy."

He frowned immediately at the tone of her voice, "Hey, Charlie. I uh, I've got Mary today, but other than that no... is something wrong?"

"Dorothy's sister just went into labour and her husband's away on work so we've got to go 'cause she doesn't want to be alone when the baby's born and I knew you were in town and the kids love you and-"

"You want me to take the kids?"

"If it's not a problem."

"Just call me Supernanny," he joked, the grin spreading wider across his face, "I can be by to pick them up in about fifteen. We're heading to the museum, so I can stop by on the way."

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!"

\- - - 

Mary was even more excited when she found out her cousins were coming too. Both coming from tiny little families, Charlie and Sam had raised their kids together and Charlie was practically a sister to them anyway so there had barely been a decision. It had just kind of happened and Dean, for one, was glad his niece and nephew had other kids to grow up with. 

Dean adored them, he really did. Mary was a beautiful girl, smart as anything which was no surprise with Sam and Jess for parents, and Kelly was the most curious, outgoing kid you could ever want to know, but when Charlie walked out of the house with the little bundle of green and shining red hair, he couldn't hold back the smile that split his face.

"Hey Baby Girl." She squirmed in his arms, pushing back off his chest to look up at him. 

"Da!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. Dean pressed a kiss into her hair. It was always Da, never Dad, but it was appropriate; he wasn't _really_ Dad, he thought, as much as Charlie and Dorothy insisted he was. Not in the classical sense of the word. Maybe if he was around more of the time, he could see himself in the role properly, but being absent four months of the year made it difficult. It didn't stop him from seeing her the moment he arrived back in town though. 

"She's missed you," Charlie grinned.

"Tell me about it, it's only been what? a week?" he sighed, closing his eyes as he held her tightly against his chest. "I've had to try and find a new job, last one didn't end well. Ellen said she might have a place for me though, and then I'll have a lot more time with them."

"I'm not judging. I'm just glad you have so much to do with her. Kelly too." As if on cue, a skinny boy with dark hair came flying out the house, making a bee line for the Impala.

"Hey, Dean!" he called

"Hi, Kel," he chuckled at Charlie who gave him an apologetic look. 

"He may or may not have found out you're going to the museum and he may or may not be a little excited."

"Hard to tell."

"Yeah... anyway, thank you so much. I owe you like, everything okay?"

"No big deal, anyway, you know I appreciate it."

"So do we. Now go, I have a hospital to get to, and if you get much more feel-y, you're gonna explode, right? Come on."

He leaned over to kiss her cheek, "let me know how things go, and say hi to Dorothy for me, hm?" 

"Can do. Have fun! Bye Jeannie, bye Kel!"

Charlie disappeared back into the house and Dean popped the trunk, digging the car seat out. He buckled it and Jean into the backseat next to Mary, kissing the former on her forehead before leaning back out of the car and instinctively pulling the front door open.

"Come on Kelly, back seat."

"Uncle Deaaan."

"I told you, when you're older. I might even teach you to drive her. Might."

\- - - 

Much to Dean's relief, the museum wasn't busy when they arrived. Kelly jumped out of the car almost immediately, racing up the front steps as Dean opened the door for Mary. 

"Come on Kel, wait for me!" He lifted Jean out of the car, reaching for her hand as she waddled away with her arms in the air. Mary took his hand as he shoved the door shut with one hip, two fingers of his other hand squeezed tightly in Jean's fist. Looking down at the pair of them, he prayed silently that if he ever had kids of his own, they'd be girls. 

The steps took longer than they should have as Jean kept bending to try and pick things up. Mary, thankfully, was patient and Kelly was waiting just outside the doors when they reached the top. Dean put that down to the fact that a guard was standing less than five feet from him, rather than his instruction. 

"Go on," he said, "but slowly okay? Don't get too far away, Jeannie's only got little legs. If you're good we'll get ice cream later."

"Ice cream?" Mary beamed.

"If you're good."

"We'll be good!" they cried in unison, before Kelly hurried away down one of the corridors.

"Awesome," Dean muttered under his breath, releasing Mary's hand to hoist Jean up onto his shoulders. She giggled and rubbed her hands through his hair. "Come on Mar, let's go find him."

"He's probably at the mummies."

"You're probably right there, kiddo."

"I wanna go see the mammoth," she pleaded, pointing to the massive statue across from the front desk.

"You know there's more in the back, we'll see them when we find Kelly again, I promise." She grinned and nodded.

Dean let her lead the way to the Egyptian wing - trust Sam's kid to know the ins and outs of a museum - and they called quietly for Kelly. When they found him, he was staring at an open sarcophagus, head cocked to one side.

"Dude, you can't just run off like that, come on." He paused, suddenly realizing Kelly wasn't on his own. The kneeling man rose, smiling softly at Dean and the girls.

"Sorry," Dean grinned. 

"This little guy with you?" he asked and Dean nearly stopped breathing because _how the hell did that voice come from that face._

"My nephew," he managed, taking in the guy's vest and tie with a subtle smirk. Yeah, he was definitely way too hot to work in a museum, and with a voice like that he should be a phone sex operator or-

"Kelly was just telling me about the mummies. I'm Castiel, Cas."

"Dean," he offered.

"Well Dean, you must be their favourite uncle bringing them out like this."

"I'm the only one, so I hope so," he grinned. The guy smiled back a little sheepishly, glancing at the girls.

"And who are these two?"

"I'm Mary, that's Jean," the girl nodded proudly, "she's the littlest."

"I can see that," Cas knelt back down in front of her, "is she your sister?"

"My cousin."

"Mister, where'd the other mummy go? You could see his face, I wanna see that one."

"Dude, manners. Don't interrupt," Dean cringed internally, wishing he had a free hand to slap over his face, but the guy just smiled and pointed out on the map where the mummy had been moved to. Mary leaned around him to see the map too, and Dean just stared. He couldn't even remember the last time Kelly had been so well behaved around a stranger, this guy was damn good. Fuck, he barely had time to look at them before kneeling down to their level. And yeah, he probably shouldn't be thinking about how attractive the tour guide was, but damn. 

Kelly tugged at his pant leg, dragging his attention back to the present, "Cas is gonna show us the mummy with the face," he beamed, and Dean couldn't help but grin back at him. He followed after the others, letting Jean down when she started to squirm, and Cas slowed down immediately to match her pace. 

He tried to focus on what Cas was saying, but it was hard when the guy had a voice like pure sex. The kids hung on his every word, gathering around him every time he knelt down to show them something, and Dean wasn't trying nearly as hard as he should be not to stare at his ass. Okay, so maybe he wasn't exactly being a 'responsible adult', but Cas was really, really hot, and judging by what little he knew of him, responsible enough for both of them together. And both of them together was something Dean was definitely thinking about by the time they reached the miniature Sphinx. Naturally, it was at that point that Jean decided to break her silence and start chanting _dinos_ at him, pulling on his fingers.

He looked down at her with a soft smile, "yeah, okay Babe. Kel, baby sister wants to go see the dinosaurs now, so we gotta go see the dinos," he added, pressing his nose to Jeans. She giggled and Dean turned back to the others. 

"I wanna stay," Kelly pouted, but Mary was already back at his side, reaching up for Dean's hand. He looked from Kelly to Cas and smiled.

"Mary and Jean wanna see things too, we can come back in a bit," he shot Cas a wink and the man flushed, smiling down at the floor. 

"I'll be here when you get back," Cas smiled at Kelly, "so just come find me and we'll finish our tour then. Does that sound okay?"

Kelly conceded and Dean shot a grin in Cas' direction before the headed off toward the dinosaurs. He had to admit, he was impressed with how much the kids knew. Even Jean knew enough of the names to do her little half run, reaching out to them as she called their names. 

"Rex, Rex! Rawr!" she cried, bending her fingers like little claws and nearly stumbling before Dean swooped in and snuggled her against his chest, holding her up to the massive T-Rex reconstruction. Kelly and Mary ran past pretending to be some sort of dinosaurs and Dean laughed to himself as he shouted at them to be careful and not to run. 

The exhibit was pretty wide open, so Dean let Kelly and Mary explore on their own, keeping an eye on them as he returned to the T-Rex over and over with Jean. She wanted to pet it, and pouted when Dean said she couldn't, so they moved on to the ice age. 

Mary sat on the ledge of one of the mammoth reconstructions, gazing up at it with wide eyes. 

"Why aren't there mammoths anymore?" she asked casually.

"Uh," Dean leaned over one of the plaques, "the weather changed too much for them, and they were being hunted. Eventually they all died out." Mary wrinkled her nose at that.

"You want me to take a picture of you and the mammoth?" he asked to distract her.

"Me too!" Kelly called, sliding in next to her.

"Alright, you too Jean?" she nodded and Dean set her on Kelly's lap, digging his phone out of his back pocket, "then we'll get lunch." 

A few people walked past, smiling at them or at Dean, and Dean grinned back. He was pretty sure he couldn't love anyone as much as he loved these kids.

Lunch consisted of hot dogs and fries, and Dean only tried for about ten minutes to keep everyone clean before that idea went right out the window. On the bright side, Mary was the only one who ended up needing to be cleaned up, but only because Dean fed Jean, not having a spare set of clothes for her. 

"So where do we wanna go next?" he asked as the kids started in on their ice cream. Jean was opening and closing her mouth like a fish, half-shouting "Da!" at him, before he turned back to her with an incredulous look. "Yes okay, be patient," he scooped more ice cream onto the spoon and held it out to her. 

"I wanna go see the bears," Kelly mumbled through a mouthful of ice cream.

"Bears? Like up in the Native American exhibit? We can do that, what do you think, Mary?" She nodded, mouth full of ice cream. "And what about you little one? Bears?" Jean just looked at him for a minute and then opened her mouth again. "Okay, okay, I get it. Ice cream first."

They didn't stay long with the bears, just long enough for Dean to point out the moose and announce it as his brother. 

"That makes you a moosette," Kelly grinned, sticking his tongue out at Mary.

"Am not, Uncle Dean, tell him I'm not a moosette!"

"Kel, come on, she's much too cute to be a moose." He sat at the edge of one of the displays, next to where Jean had curled herself up and promptly fallen asleep. Dean lifted her up gently, pressing her close against his chest.

"Hey guys, what do you say we go back to the tour, hm? We probably shouldn't be too much longer, Jeannie's fallin' asleep."

It didn't take long to catch up with Cas again, but he was in the middle of another tour, discussing the building of the Great Pyramids as a few people snapped photos - probably of him, Dean thought with a smirk. Kelly rushed up to the front of the group and apparently made himself known at a break in Cas' story.

"Well, look who's back," he smiled, shooting a quick, shy glance up at Dean. 

"Can I go up too?" Mary asked, peering up at him.

"Go ahead, but stay with Kelly okay?"

"Mmhm," she nodded, scurrying around the gathered group. Dean hung back around the edge, keeping an eye on the kids as they pestered Cas again. No one seemed to mind - Cas, least of all - and most of them seemed to think it was sweet how focused he was on them - Dean most of all. 

"Well, you seem to know so much about it, why don't you tell us all?" 

Kelly fidgeted a little, but started pouring out facts, probably directly quoting the shows he had seen, while Cas gave him gentle pointers. _A little louder. Keep your chin up._ Dean must have had the stupidest grin on his face because there was suddenly someone standing next to him.

"Your son?" a woman's voice asked. He spun around to face her. 

"My nephew," he corrected, gently rubbing Jean's back as she started to squirm, "and my niece."

"He's cute," she commented, flashing a bright smile. Dean wondered if there was a polite was to say I'm sorry, I'm more interested in the hot guy leading the tour - he was pretty sure there wasn't. Instead he just smiled back, and turned his attention to Cas and the kids.

Cas was laughing, Dean didn't know at what, but he was pretty sure Mary had said something, judging by the way she was blushing bright pink and turned toward Kelly. He barely took his eyes off them unless he was gesturing to a display. When they moved on from that location, he gestured with his head for Dean to follow, carefully guiding the kids to the next stop on the tour. 

Dean was ninety percent sure that real human beings were not that friendly with strange children. Cas just smiled and nodded along with everything Kelly said, answering the few questions he asked quickly and plainly. Dean's attention was only drawn away as Jean snuggled further into his chest, sucking her thumb. As much as he wanted to sit and listen to Cas talk until he literally fell over with exhaustion, they were probably going to have to leave soon. 

Luckily, or unluckily as Dean saw it, the tour ended shortly, and as Cas led the guests to the exit, Dean sat down on the bench across from the gift shop. He had given the kids some money and they were wandering around the gift shop apparently inspecting everything closely before making a selection. He didn't realize he was humming until Cas sat down at the opposite end of the bench. 

"Is she asleep?"

"Yeah," he whispered, brushing a few stray hairs out of her face, "Thank you, by the way, for being so patient with the kids. They're sweet, but they can ask a hell of a lot of questions, and you're great with them."

"Oh, it's nothing really, I love kids, they're so interested in everything and they have a kind of innocence that adults lose. They're just so full of life," he smiled softly, not looking at Dean. 

"You have kids?"

"Me? No. I have a few nieces and nephews but they're in France with my brother."

"Yeah, that sucks. I spend my summers in Cali and I have a hard time not being with them for a few months." There was only silence for a few minutes, but Dean decided it needed to be filled.

"It's not easy to get Kelly interested in things sometimes. Mummies are one of the few things he will probably stop and actually care about so just, thanks for being patient with him. I know he asks a million questions and... sorry, I'm repeating myself now- I'll shut up."

"It's my pleasure," he grinned, just barely glancing at Dean, "there's no need to thank me." He paused for a moment, then looked up, "I know it's rude to ask, but is she yours? She's beautiful and she looks just like you." 

Dean raised both eyebrows with a smirk and Cas turned away, flushing furiously. "Yeah she is. Well no. Well, yeah, but- biologically, yes. I'm more like step-dad kinda thing, I guess," he shrugged.

"I'm sorry," Cas mumbled.

"Don't be, it's all cool. I see her all the time and... you really don't care about that," he shuffled Jean back against his chest as the other two stumbled over to him. "I should probably get these guys home, it's been a long day."

"No," they both whined, pouting up at him.

"I'll tell you what, we go home now and we'll come back tomorrow when we're all awake. That earned him a cheer, and he pushed up off the bench, taking Mary by the hand again. "So, will we be seeing our favourite tour guide tomorrow?" he asked with a smirk. 

"Uh, yes, I'm in tomorrow," he flushed again and Dean's mind raced, thinking of any way to bring that blush back into his cheeks. 

"Alright, it's a date," he turned with a wink and there it was again. 

\- - - 

They visited the museum almost every day over the next two weeks. Dean was increasingly impressed with Cas' patience as Kelly and Mary proceeded to ask him the same four questions over and over again. He even came up with different facts to add in each time, and Dean was pretty sure he was falling a little in love with him. 

Dean had Jean in the stroller and Mary and Kelly on either side of him when they came upon Cas, surrounded by a group of what must have been at least twenty kids. Kelly groaned as Dean held him back from running to the group.

"Let's just wait till he's done okay? Give the other kids a chance to talk to him for a while." Dean flashed a grin in the man's direction and Cas chuckled slightly, smiling back over the gathered kids. Kelly whined and even Mary sighed a little, shrugging her shoulders.

"I wanna talk to him now, I thought of a new question." Dean opened his mouth to reply but he was cut off by a voice from behind them.

"She has a bigger crush on him than you do."

"No," she huffed as Dean turned toward the sound. Charlie grinned back at him and Kelly immediately ran over to her, tugging at her arm and trying to show her things.

"What are you doing here? I thought I had the kids today?"

"You do," she grinned, "I came to see what the big deal was about the ' _museum_ '," her eyes flicked over to Cas and back to Dean in an instant, "I see now."

Dean gave her a disproving look and she just laughed, taking Kelly's hand, "what'd you wanna show me hun?"

Half an hour later found them in the sea life exhibit, Charlie carrying Jean around while being tugged in every direction by Kelly. Dean had to admit he was glad Charlie had shown up, they hadn't really spent much time alone together since high school, granted having the kids wasn't really alone, but it was the closest they got anymore. Dean followed Mary around, chucking every time Kelly exclaimed about something else he had to show his Mom. 

"Can we bring Mom and Dad one day?" Mary asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah, of course, you just ask them and I'm sure they'd love to-" he whipped around as he heard Kelly call 'Cas!' and Charlie quickly shushed him. Mary jumped beside him and they strolled over to where the tour guide was standing next to Charlie.

"A little birdy told me you guys had a few more questions to ask. Hello," he smiled at Charlie, "you must be Mom."

"One of them," she grinned, "these two are mine. You're Cas, right? Dean and the kids talk about you all the time." She flashed a grin back at Dean as both he and Cas flushed bright red. He returned with his best I'm-going-to-kill-you smile, but she ignored it, readjusting Jean in her arms.

He tuned out as she started questioning Cas about he didn't want to know what, and led Mary off to where she wanted to see the blue whale skeleton. It didn't hold her interest long, and soon she was pulling him back into the main room to talk to Cas.

"So are you single? Just because-"

"Charlie," Dean interrupted, "didn't you have that thing today?"

She just smirked at him, calm as can be, "Oh, Dorothy's handling that. She didn't need me after all."

"Oh, awesome."

"Um, Cas?" Mary asked and the guy was down on his knee again, talking to her about dolphins. Dean was still astounded at the knowledge this guy had on, well, pretty much anything. He realized he was staring when Charlie nudged him in the side.

Cas spent most of the rest of the day with them, either explaining things to the kids or answering Charlie's endless questions with a saint-like patience. Even as he trailed after them, pushing Jean in the stroller again, Dean couldn't help but think about Charlie's stupid question that he'd stopped Cas replying to. _Was_ he single? If he was, would he- don't go there. He caught Cas' eye and winked reflexively. No, there was no way a smart guy with a face like that was single.

There were a few moments when Charlie managed to claim all three kids' attention that Cas looked like he wanted to say something, or he held Dean's gaze for a little too long, but they were always interrupted before Dean could say anything. They didn't spend as long at the museum that day as they normally did - Charlie and Dorothy had plans with friends and she needed to get the kids home and clean before four. Dean was almost thankful for it when she said they had to go, although the kids were not. 

Cas led them back to the main lobby where Charlie insisted on shaking his hand and thanked him for everything. 

"I can see why Dean likes you, you're so good with the kids," she smiled at Cas' awkward grin and faint blush. "I'll have to come by again some time." 

Dean said goodbye to Jean and Kelly, waiting until the three of them were out the front doors before turning back to Cas with a sigh, "sorry about her, she has a big sister complex..."

Cas huffed a laugh, "It's okay, I have a sister who does the same thing. And four brothers."

"Yeah? Well sorry. I'll seeya, I guess."

"Bye Cas!" Mary called. Dean smiled as Cas knelt down to say goodbye, and he and Mary turned to leave the museum. 

\- - - 

He was back at the museum at three the next day, accompanied by Kelly and Jean. Sam and Jess both managed to have the same day off, and Mary was with them for the day. It was easier when Kelly and Mary were together, but they were having a picnic at the park and Kelly didn't seem to mind her absence in his excitement.

They had to stop by the museum on their way to pick up food, because Jean's favourite stuffed rabbit had vanished and it was the last place they could think of where she might have left it. Cas was more than happy to go check the lost and found for her, and when he came back wiggling the rabbit in his hands, Jean squawked excitedly. Cas smiled at her,

"Everything okay now?"

"I think so," Dean sighed in response, "thank you, grocery shopping is not fun without bunny." Cas smiled.

"We're having a picnic," Kelly piped up, "you should come with us."

Dean swore his heart stopped and he and Cas shared a deer-in-the-headlights kind of look before Cas managed to speak.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Kelly."

"No," Dean said in a moment of what was clearly madness, "you should totally come. It'll be fun. If you're not doing anything, that is."

"No, I'm not," he raised an eyebrow at Dean, but grinned, "I finish in about half an hour, I can meet you there if you like."

"Yeah," he replied, trying not to let his smile take over his face. "We're just going to the park down by the lake."

"I guess I'll see you in a little while then."

Dean over thought everything at the grocery store. He had no idea what the hell Cas would want to eat. Kelly kept picking out snack things and before Dean could really pay much attention their basket was full of granola bars and juice and fruit snacks. When Dean insisted on something with more substance, they ended up with crackers and cheese. It could be worse. He grabbed a pack of yogurts as they made their way up to the till, and that would have to do. 

He was glad to leave the store, except once they were back in the car Kelly kept asking when Cas was going to show up.

"Dude, believe me, if I knew I'd tell you," he said, lifting Jean out of her car seat.

"Well how long has it been?"

"Just about half an hour Kel, he's probably just finishing work."

"Oh."

"I know you're excited okay, but you've gotta be a little more patient. Can you help me take some of this down?" 

He nodded eagerly and Dean gave him the lightest bag of groceries and the blanket to carry down to the playground. Dean followed shortly, pushing the rest of the groceries in Jean's buggy as he carried her in one arm. He laid out the blanket a little awkwardly and let Jean down on it as he organized the rest of the stuff. Kelly was long gone, climbing on the jungle gym with a couple other kids. 

When Cas arrived, walking toward them in a billowing trench coat, Kelly hurried over to him and Dean couldn't help laughing. 

"He's been waiting for you," he grinned. "Glad to see you made it."

"I told you I would."

"I guess I just- come sit down." Dean pushed down the nervousness that threatened to bubble to the surface as he sat down between Cas and Kelly, tugging Jean into his lap. She giggled, clinging desperately to his fingers and Dean pressed his nose into her hair. 

After a few minutes of questions that Cas, as usual, seemed thrilled to answer, Kelly scurried away to play with the other kids at the playground and the nervousness somehow vanished. Dean lay down on his side, curling around Jean as she played with her bunny.

"My Mom used to bring Sam and I here when he was a baby."

"Your brother. Mary's dad?"

"Yeah."

"Have you lived here your whole life?"

"Born and raised, you?" he looked up to Cas as the man shook his head.

"I was born in Illinois. My Dad left when I was young and Mom moved us down here. I don't know why she chose Kansas but- I'm the only one still here now, all my siblings have moved away."

"To France?" 

"You uh, you remember that?"

Dean grinned at the surprise in his face, the faint pink tingeing his cheeks. "I remember everything you've told me."

They didn't stay out long, and when they were about to leave, Kelly ran over shouting.

"Uncle Dean!"

"What's up Kel?" he asked, looking up from where he was packing things back into bags.

"Jeff's going to the pool tomorrow and he says I have to go too! Can we go?"

"Why don't you talk to your Mom and she can take you, hm?"

"Don't want Moms to take me. They're boring. Why can't _you_ take me?" 

Dean practically snorted, "yeah okay, I can take you. Shouldn't call your Moms boring though Buddy." He shared a quick look with Cas, debating whether he should invite him or not. The thought of Cas in swim shorts was enough to make up his mind, and yeah, he was a terrible person. Kelly interrupted his thoughts, jumping in front of him.

"You're gonna come too right Cas? And we'll bring Mary," he added to Dean.

"Ah, Dude," Dean looked to Cas, shrugging slightly, "you don't have to."

"Please?" Kelly looked up with wide eyes and Dean ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't work tomorrow, so I don't see why not."

Kelly jumped up with a cheer, running off back to the jungle gym. "Kelly, five more minutes okay?" Dean turned back to Cas once Kelly was out of earshot, "you don't have to y'know."

"It's alright, he's sweet. And convincing."

"He's a little shit is what he is," Dean mumbled. Cas laughed as he handed Dean one of the tied up grocery bags. 

"I think it's cute that he likes spending so much time with you."

"He's just using me to get to you. Kid soaks up information like a freakin' sponge and I swear to God you know something about _everything_."

"Not quite," Cas glanced up, avoiding Dean's gaze when he looked over.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's nothing. You wanted to get going, right?"

"Right. You gonna take off then?"

"I think so. I promised my sister I would call her and I've been avoiding it for a month."

"Yeah, alright," he chuckled, "I know that feeling. Guess I'll see you in the morning? Want me to pick you up?"

Cas looked like he was about to back out, letting out a deep breath before he agreed, "yes, okay." He wrote his phone number and address on a piece of paper and shoved it into Dean's hand. "It's apartment 201, you'll have to buzz up."

"Alright. I'll swing by around nine?"

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning." He watched Cas walk off toward the playground, waving goodbye to Kelly before he made his way back up to the parking lot. He turned back to Dean just before he got in his car and Dean groaned at the little flip his stomach did. 

\- - - 

Nine in the morning was really early. Probably not for normal people, but when your nephew invites a really hot guy to come swimming with you and you don't sleep until sometime after three then yeah, nine is really early. He had called Cas when he woke up - barely half an hour previous - and was now following the directions he'd been given. 

The apartment building was huge, and entirely reflective which meant it was probably expensive as hell to live there. He walked up to the front door and punched in the number Cas had given him. Cas answered after one ring.

"Dean? Come up, I'll just be a minute."

The door clicked open and Dean pushed it cautiously, following the signs to the elevator and catching it up to the second floor. Luckily, apartment 201 was right at the front of the hall and he didn't have to go wandering around looking for it. He knocked on the door, vaguely wondering if it was too late to go back and _why in the hell was he so nervous._

It didn't hit him until he was standing in the middle of Cas' living room, surrounded by the scent of him that he realized this was the first time they had ever been alone together. No museum, no kids and _holy shit_ his heart was racing all of a sudden. He tried not to think about it, to think about taking the kids swimming, but he got as far as wet Cas before his brain shut down completely.

"You okay?" Cas asked, suddenly appearing in front of him, and _hell_ , Cas in jeans and a t-shirt wasn't much better than wet Cas. Dean smiled forcefully, hoping it didn't come across that way.

"Yeah, just a little tired. Woke up late and I haven't had coffee yet."

"I have instant, if that's alright?" Cas offered and Dean beamed.

"Dude, if you're offering, instant is perfect." 

He disappeared back into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later, offering a chrome travel mug to Dean, "black, right? It's what you were drinking at the museum one day."

"Yeah," Dean grinned, "you're awesome."

"We should go," Cas flushed, turning toward the door and grabbing a bag that sat next to it.

"Right," Dean agreed, not even trying to look away as Cas bent to pick his bag up.

\- - - 

The pool wasn't too busy, considering it was a Saturday, and Kelly had found his friend quickly. Mary was assisting Dean in tugging on Jean's water wings when Cas found them. He strode over, apparently oblivious to the fact that Dean practically had to pick his jaw up off the floor, because _fuck_ , he was supposed to a museum tour guide not some sort of fucking model. A quick glance around told him that Dean was not the only one who noticed. 

Jean was splashing around on the shallow step in front of Dean, and he turned back to her with a grin. "careful baby girl, you're gonna drown me over here." She squirmed away and Dean scooped her back up, holding her up above the water. "Ah ah, you're not getting away that easily."

"Watch me swim!" Mary called, and Dean shifted Jean in his arms, "watch Mary," he said, pointing to the other girl. Cas sat down next to him as Mary jumped into the pool and bounced around a little before actually swimming over to them. 

"Good job, Mini Mom!" Dean grinned, holding out his hand for a high five. She stumbled a little, hitting his hand with too much force, but Cas held out a hand to her and she grinned.

"Do you wanna see how I can hold my breath?"

"I'd love to," he smiled and Dean couldn't help but smile at him, playing it off as he bobbed Jean up and down in the shallow water. 

Kelly came back to them after a little while and what was apparently a friendship-ending argument over floatation devices.

"He wouldn't let me use the mat," he frowned.

"So you're just not gonna talk to him now?"

"Not till he apologises."

"Okay, whatever. I'm not gonna get involved. You wanna take Mary over to the whirlpool? I can't really leave your sister on her own."

"Okay," he sighed, but he took Mary's hand and the giggled away toward the circular pool. 

"How did you ever cope when they were young?" Cas asked, sounding almost astounded as Dean rested Jean on his knee again, letting her splash her toes in the water.

"Well, this one never came out with us, did you Jeannie Bean?" she giggled and squirmed as Dean tickled her sides. "And Mary and Kelly have pretty much been attached at the hip since she was born so," he shrugged, "it's never been much of a problem, we just hung out at home a lot more often before."

A woman with a boy who appeared to be around Jean's age sat down on the edge of the pool not far from them, "you two have beautiful children," she smiled, "they must be a handful, though."

"Oh-" 

"They're not _ours_ ," Dean clarified, "the little one's mine, the other two are my niece and nephew. We're not- uh-"

"Sorry," she grinned awkwardly. Dean could feel the heat rise in his cheeks and he focused on Jean, avoiding Cas entirely. He watched as who he assumed was the woman's husband came up behind her and kissed her head. Cas shifted awkwardly, turning to lean against the wall of the pool, sinking deeper into the water. They shared an awkward grin and Dean stood Jean between them, holding her upright with one hand. 

Dean sat back for a little while, feeding Jean and letting her fall asleep against his chest while Cas stayed in the pool with Mary and Kelly. He thought a lot about the woman's comment, comparing it to the late night phone calls he had a little too often with Sam. When he was lonely he had a habit of drinking too much, and when he drank he usually ended up on the phone with his brother, unloading all his problems on the younger man. It was shitty, and he hated himself for it every morning afterward, but it was nice for once, to have someone who knew how he felt. 

Sam had pointed out to him a few nights back how long it had been since they'd talked. And yeah, it had. Most nights he fell asleep easily, thinking about what he was gonna do with the kids or when they were heading back to the museum next. 

He smiled as Cas caught his eye, and waved to Kelly as he plugged his nose and sunk underwater. The kids loved him, and even if they weren't his own, that was a huge plus. He mulled it over in his head as he watched them and decided eventually that he was going to say something. He'd never had issues before, but when he thought about it, he'd never gone in looking for something for more than a few hours. He was gonna say something.

Later, he decided as Cas herded the kids up into the sitting area to grab their towels. He'd wait till they were alone. 

They dropped the kids off and drove in silence for half an hour until they reached Cas' apartment building. They were alone. They had been alone for half an hour. What the hell was wrong with him. He waved as Cas got out of the car and headed up the stairs. He had to practically force himself to roll down the window, but he did, and Cas turned back when he called him.

"What?"

"So I've been meaning to ask-" he froze. He couldn't do it, if Cas said no... "-that Halloween thing at the museum next weekend, you gonna be there?"

"Very probably," he replied, and Dean couldn't tell if the note of disappointment was his imagination or not.

"Well, we'll probably be there, so... see you then?"

"I'm sure I will."

He managed to at least wait until Cas was out of sight before banging his head on the steering wheel.

\- - - 

The week dragged by, and Dean spent most of his days at the Roadhouse, a bar and grill that friends of his and Sam's owned. Ellen had been generous enough to offer him a job for the winter which meant he didn't have to worry about finding someone to hire him for 8 months, but it also meant he had less time with the kids. By the time Saturday rolled around, he was practically ecstatic. 

They all met at Sam's and took separate vehicles to the museum - Dean flat out refused to drive there in a mini van. Cas was up at the main desk when they arrived and Dean practically tripped over himself as Charlie mumbled something about his boyfriend in his ear. He introduced Cas to everyone, and Sam and Jess were both excited to meet the man their daughter apparently never stopped talking about.

"She can recite museum plaques," Jess smiled at him, "she keeps asking when she can come back. I don't know what you do that keeps the kids so interested in all of this, but you're obviously doing something right."

"Thank you," Cas smiled, "it helps that they have an uncle who's so willing to bring them in all the time." He shot a quick glance at Dean, grinning before turning back to Sam to talk about God knows what. Probably something geeky.

"He seems so sweet," Jess commented as they made their way to the designated craft room, "you sure you guys are just friends?"

"Pretty damn sure," Dean mumbled, joining Kelly and Dorothy at one end of the table. Jess frowned at him, but he wasn't in the mood today. Charlie shot him a sympathetic look as she sat down next to him with Jean. 

He threw himself into the mask-making, helping Kelly glue feathers and preventing Jean from eating them. Every time he took one away from her, she would bat at him with a painty little hand, and he was pretty sure by an hour in that he was more paint and glitter than man. He smiled as she handed him another bottle of glitter, ignoring the way Charlie looked at him with concern.

She grabbed his hand as he stood up, asking a silent question. He shrugged and pulled his hand away gently.

"I'm just gonna get a drink, I'll be back in a minute." He walked away with a false smile, and the intention of finding the cafeteria. 

He sat alone at a table in the corner pushing a straw in an out of his juice box. He had bought it with the intention of taking it back to Jean, but he'd just started thinking again and made himself more miserable. 

"Is this seat taken?"

He glanced up, surprised to see Cas standing above him, "I'll warn you now, I'm not very good company at the moment." Cas made to sit down and Dean slid over along the bench to make room for him. "You on your break?"

"An hour for lunch, yeah. I went to check on the activities and Charlie said you'd come in here."

"Yeah, I uh- yeah."

"I know it's really none of my business, but is something wrong?"

"No I'm alright, it's just- it's nothing," he shook his head, falling silent as he shoved the straw back down into the juice box, "just ah, rough day. Having a kid with three parents can be tough, especially if you're the one she doesn't live with."

"I'm sorry, Dean." Cas looked up at him softly, resting a hand on his arm. "I can't say I understand, but I know it can be difficult. My brother is going through a divorce and his wife is filing for full custody of their daughters. It's been a rough few months. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nah, I don't want to bother you with it."

"Dean," Cas' hand slipped down to cover his own, curling around his fingers, "you can tell me."

He could feel the flush creep into his cheeks, but he slipped his fingers around Cas', "I just- I'll never regret it, ever, but it's just hard when she's with them. I love Charlie and Dorothy, they're great parents and they love Jean so much and they're cool about me taking her pretty much whenever I want but I just miss so much y'know? Like her first words, her first step and stupid things that shouldn't matter, but they do and I'm not there for them. I don't see her four months of the year and they spend every second Christmas with Dorothy's family in Australia and-" he inhaled deeply, "Dude, sorry, you don't wanna hear my personal problems..."

"I don't mind."

Dean squeezed his hand as they fell silent. He was staring at a plant in the corner of the room when Cas' thumb brushed over his cheek. 

"Sorry, " he smiled, "glitter."

"Yeah, I'm kinda eighty percent glitter right now."

Cas chuckled as Dean passed a hand over his face, wiping glitter onto his already paint-stained shirt. "I think it suits you," he grinned. 

"Yeah, well, not exactly the kind of thing I had hoped to be covered in today but-" 

"You expected to be- oh. Uh, right. So, are the kids having fun? They seemed so excited about it, and they're always so eager and excited. I think that's the best part of the job - the kids, I mean - when they actually care about what they're learning. Sometimes I prefer their company, that's probably why my sister thinks I'm going to- not important." He paused, noticing Dean's expression, "not that I don't enjoy _your_ company, I do. A lot, actually. I enjoy going out with you - not like _that_ , just- I don't really do a lot, I spend most of my time alone or here and- sorry, I'm rambling. I should let you get back."

Dean just grinned, "no, it's cool. I could sit here and listen to you talk about dirt all day and you'd still be the most interesting person in the room."

Cas huffed a laugh, glancing down at the table to cover the flush in his cheeks, "coincidentally, I do know a little bit about dirt, but I think this is actually the part where I'm supposed to ask you to marry me." He huffed again and Dean grinned, suddenly realizing he was still holding his hand.

"Don't do that... I might do something stupid like say yes. Not that there's anything wrong with you- anyone should be lucky to marry you. I mean you're fucking brilliant and gorgeous and- oh _God_ please tell me to shut up."

"Dean?"

"Yeah?" he asked cautiously.

"Maybe we should start with coffee." 

Dean grinned, "yeah. Coffee would be awesome. I uh, I could meet you after work?"

"Yeah."

Dean pulled his hand away gently, leaning over a little uncomfortably to press a chaste kiss to Cas' lips. It was soft and sweet and Dean forgot for a moment that he was in the middle of the museum "Sorry," he whispered, pulling back, "I've wanted to do that for a long time."

They were barely parted for a second when Cas curled a hand around the back of his neck and drew him in again. Cas pulled away slowly, cheeks tinged a very prominent shade of red.

"Me too. I finish at five," he bit his lip, smiling. 

"I'll be here," Dean grinned, trying to hide the fact that he couldn't catch his breath. 

\- - - 

Dean focused on their conversation in the cafeteria; the way Cas spoke to him, the soft genuine smile. He was terrified - it was stupid and he knew it, but the thought of being with Cas without the kids as - as what? a shield? - was intimidating. 

Cas was waiting for him on the steps when he arrived, nose pressed into a book. At least he was there, that was a good sign. Dean pulled to the curb, he had barely turned the music down when Cas was grinning at him through the window. Dean forced a smile back at him. He really shouldn't be so fucking nervous, but he couldn't help flexing his fingers around the steering wheel, exhaling deeply as Cas shut the door after him.

"How was work?"

"Good," Cas smiled, "we had a huge group come in not long after you left."

Dean smiled at him as he pulled back onto the road. This was Cas, everything would be fine. So why was his heart still racing? Why the hell was he so scared? It was just a date, Cas was just a guy. 

Cas' hand brushed over his knee, "you okay?"

"Uh huh," Dean replied unconvincingly. He dropped his hand to cover Cas', curling his fingers around his. He was holding hands. In the car, of all places. With a guy he barely knew. Okay, not a guy he barely knew, Cas. Cas who he kissed less then three hours ago. Cas who _kissed_ him.

He looked over to find the man watching him with concern.

"Is everything okay, Dean?"

Without thinking, he pulled his hand back and swerved to the side of the road, hands clenched around the steering wheel as he dropped his head against it. 

"I have no idea what I'm doing."

Cas just say patiently, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm not good at this part, Cas. I don't remember the last date I had, hell, I don't even remember the last time I did anything with anyone older than ten. This is... kind of a big thing for me, and I've had three hours to sit and over think every tiny little thing." 

He could feel his heart beating hard against his chest and he exhaled slowly. 

"I'm a little nervous too," Cas admitted after some time, "to be honest, I'm glad it's not just me." He offered up an encouraging smile and Dean chuckled, shaking his head against the steering wheel. 

"This is ridiculous, I'm sorry. I'm normally a lot more..."

"Confident?"

"Yeah..."

"Where should we go, Dean?" he asked a little more softly. 

"There's uh, a little place I go to all the time? A twenty-four hour cafe down the street from my place. If I haven't successfully turned you off the whole thing," he shot a quick look at Cas and added hopefully, "they have great pie."

"I would love to have pie with you."

\- - - 

He was pretty sure Cas was perfect. There weren't many people he'd met who would still want to go out with you when you damn near have a breakdown _before_ anything happens. Dean practically had to shoo him away once they ordered so Cas wouldn't pay for it - buying him coffee and pie was the least he could do at this point. The dark-haired girl behind the counter smiled at him.

"Friend of yours?" she asked knowingly.

"God, I hope so. How's it going Tess?"

She shrugged, turning away to prepare their drinks, "could be worse. Driving out to see Dad next weekend so yeah. Other than that nothin'. Still single, still working here. Haven't seen you in ages though, although," she added, peering in the direction Cas had left, "I guess I know why. How's the little one?"

"She's good," Dean beamed, "growing up too fast. Wow, when the hell did I start to sound like a parent?"

"About six weeks before she was born," Tessa laughed, "and uh," she cocked her head to one side, turning back to him, "the guy?"

"His name's Cas."

"And?" she asked, sliding two plates of pie across the counter.

"And? What do you want from me?"

"Dean when was the last time you had a date? High school?" she raised her eyebrows incredulously, "come on."

"Not true, I dated Aaron for three months."

"Four years ago. Come _on_ Dean, don't make me call Jo and get it out of her."

"She doesn't know," he replied quietly, glancing over his shoulder. 

"What?"

"Charlie's the only one who really knows anything."

"So he's like, a secret?" she asked, putting both drinks on a tray and sliding the plates on with them.

"He's kind of a new thing, I don't wanna rush in and fuck everything up."

"You're a sweetheart, Dean. Now go take the boy his pie." 

He grinned and took the tray from her hands, carrying it carefully to where Cas was sat, tucked away in a corner. He rose immediately to take the tray from Dean and lower it to the table. 

"Is she a friend of yours?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"The woman behind the counter, she kept grinning at me."

"Friend from high school," Dean explained, "I used to come in here like three times a week until-"

"Until?" Cas prompted.

"Until I started harassing you instead."

Dean calmed down as soon as he got Cas talking, and Cas seemed more at ease than he had been since Dean had met him. He talked a lot about his family; about his brothers in France and Northern Canada, about his nieces and nephews and how his sister had been trying so hard to get him out of the house for months, and how excited she had been when he'd told her about Dean. 

"She wants to meet you, you know."

Dean nearly choked on his forkful of pie, "she _what_? What the hell did you tell her about me?"

Cas grinned through the blush that spread up from his neck, "not much, just that you come in with the kids a lot..."

"And she wants to meet me based on that?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, no."

"So, what, she gonna come along with us next time?" he asked with a grin.

"Next time?"

"Hopefully. 

"As long as I don't have to bring Anna with me."

"To be honest, I'd prefer if you didn't." 

"So would I." Cas looked up at him, that shy smiled spreading over his face and Dean was temped to lean over the table and kiss it off his face. "You have-" Cas leaned forward, brushing a hand through Dean's hair. "Glitter."

Dean stayed quiet, a soft grin playing on his lips as he tried to focus his eyes on anything but Cas' mouth. They sat together, just watching each other for a long time before Castiel cleared his throat. 

"You said before you're only here eight months out of a year, where are you the rest of the time?"

"I uh," Dean shook his head, brining himself back to the present. "I own a little beachside restaurant in San Diego, I'm there for the summer each year."

"You _own_ it?"

"Well, me and a buddy of mine own the place and he's got a little souvenir shop next door," he grinned. "He runs both of 'em while I'm back here."

"I'd like to see it sometime."

"Tell you what, you still wanna see it come June and I'll take you out there with me."

"I will make sure you keep that promise," Cas smiled. "For now, it's getting late and we both have to work in the morning, if I remember correctly."

"Right," Dean nodded, "we should probably get going."

Castiel rose with him, pressing his hand into Dean's as they left the scent of coffee behind and returned to the car. Tessa waved through the window as Dean pulled out of the parking lot, and he raised one hand in response to her excited grin. 

"Am I taking you home?"

"Back to the museum, if you don't mind. My car is there."

It was a quick drive back to the museum, and Dean was already wishing he could keep Cas just a little bit longer. He pulled into the parking lot and climbed out with Cas, leaning against the Impala.

"Thank you, Dean."

"Yeah, no problem. Hey, Cas?" The man looked up at him and Dean shoved his hands in his pockets, "you wanna do this again sometime?"

"Very much," Cas grinned, lip caught between his teeth. Dean leaned against the car door, nearly toppling over as Cas looked up at him. "I should-"

"Right, right."

They stood silent for a moment, neither sure exactly what to do. Dean broke the awkward silence, bending down to catch Cas' mouth in a soft kiss. When he moved to pull back, Cas' arms wound around him, pressing him back against the car.

Cas was warm and soft against him, pressing into him with his whole body. Dean pulled him in closer, sliding his hands up Cas' back, down over his hips. Cas opened to him, allowing him to deepen the kiss with a subtle slide of lips, and Dean was sure he would be happy to stay like this forever. He almost whined when Cas broke away with a little shrug.

"I'll talk to you later," he grinned, brushing a hand down Dean's arms before turning away. Dean stood and watched after him for a minute, still grinning stupidly as he leaned against the car. 

He didn't start to worry until he got home, but with four missed calls from Charlie and a not-so-subtle voicemail insinuating that she knew what he was doing, he didn't dwell on it for long.

\- - -

He was at the museum first thing in the morning. He tried to convince himself it was only because it happened to be on the way to Jean's Daycare centre, but the vanilla latte in his free hand said otherwise and he gave up trying to delude himself.

He made his way toward the Egyptian exhibit, peering around every corner and down each hall. Cas was where he had first seen him, straightening the barriers around the exhibit. He turned as he heard them approach, and Dean offered a warm smile.

"Mornin'," he handed the takeaway cup to Cas, "we stopped for breakfast so..."

"Thank you. "

"Anyway, we were just heading to Daycare and I thought I'd stop by, just... make sure everything's okay. You left in kind of a hurry last night."

"I'm sorry about that, I didn't want to get carried away and do something stupid. I don't want to screw this up, Dean," he sighed, but Dean couldn't help but grin a him. 

"You'd have to have some sort of special power to screw this up, Cas." They both chuckled and Dean hitched Jean up on his hip, "so if you're not doing anything... dinner, tonight?"

"Okay."

"I could pick you up after work again?"

Cas grinned, "I'd prefer to go home and get changed first, I think."

"I dunno," Dean tugged at the bottom of his vest and ran his hand down the front, "I kinda like this."

"I have to start work," Cas smiled, "thanks for the coffee, I'll call you on my break."

"Yeah, okay. I gotta get to work anyway."

Cas leaned in to kiss him quickly, "I'll talk to you later." Jean whined, reaching out to Cas as he started away. "What's wrong, little one?"

"She's just jealous," Dean pressed a kiss to the top of her head and she squirmed away. 

Cas turned back to kiss her forehead, "yes, okay, you too."

Dean beamed at him, tilting his chin up to kiss him again.

"Go to work, Dean," he smiled.

\- - - 

"You're early," the blonde woman cocked an eyebrow at him as he entered the bar, "and you've already got coffee? What's up Dean."

"Mornin' Ellen. Had a couple stops to make. Coffee, daycare - Charlie worked early and Dorothy's at her sister's for a few nights - and I had to stop at the museum."

"The museum?" she asked, and Dean was sure if her eyebrow could arch higher, it would.

"Is Ash around?" he asked, avoiding the topic.

"He's got some date or something," she waved a hand vaguely, "what's at the museum?"

"I had to drop something off for a friend," Dean turned as the door behind the bar opened and a young woman walked out, grinning at him.

"Does this _friend_ have a name?" she asked with a smirk. Dean just continued to look at her, even as Ellen raised both hands and headed into the kitchen. "Well, does he?" 

"Cas okay. His name is Cas, you gonna let me put my stuff away?" He slid past her, pushing open the door she had just come through. She followed him.

"So Cas, huh? How'd you meet him?"

"Come on, Jo."

"I'm just asking," she shot back defensively.

Dean sighed, hanging his coat up and pulling an apron down from the shelf, "he works at the museum, I met him when Mary wanted to go look at the mammoths."

"What's he like?"

Dean raised a questioning eyebrow, "why?"

"Curious!" Jo insisted.

"He's smart, a fuckin' genius," he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he tied the apron around him, "great with the kids..."

"Is he hot?"

"Yeah."

"Have you kissed him?"

" _Jo_."

"Are you gonna ask him out?"

"Will you keep your mouth shut about it if I tell you that I already did?"

" _Oh my God, Dean_! I knew you looked too cheerful for this early in the morning. You gotta tell me all about him."

Work passed quickly once Dean actually got down to it. Jo made him give up every detail before she stopped pestering him and by the end of it, she was demanding to meet Cas. Ash showed up part way through the day, wearing a smirk. He and Dean played pool on Dean's break while regular customers came up to tell him how good it was to see him back. 

Cas didn't call till a few minutes past five, apologising profusely for being so late. They arranged for Dean to pick him up at his apartment at six, and Dean hung up with a grin fixed on his face. He called Charlie to ensure she was still picking Jean up then drove home to get changed. 

Cas was waiting outside for him when he arrived, a bight blue button-up shirt and navy Peacoat in place of the vest. Dean made a sound of approval as he climbed out of the car.

"Is this acceptable?"

"Very," Dean hummed. He slipped his fingers into Cas' coat pockets, tugging him closer, "where do you want to go?"

Cas shrugged, allowing himself to be pulled forward. "I have no idea. Why don't we drive around till we find something?"

"Yeah, alright. But first-" Dean pulled him flush against his own chest, pressing kisses against Cas' smiling mouth.

"Dean," he laughed, squirming away, "we should go."

Dean huffed an agreement, and they climbed into the car. They spent nearly twenty minutes driving around, turning down each others suggestions because 'the service is terrible' or 'last time I ate there I got food poisoning,' eventually they settled on what looked like a tiny little place Cas spotted that neither of them had ever been to. 

As soon as they walked in Dean grinned over at Cas. "Good choice so far." The interior was separated into two main rooms - the restaurant, and a bar slash dance floor thing that Dean intended to avoid at all costs. The windows were all blacked out and painted with murals, which explained why he didn't realize how big the place was from outside. 

Cas took his hand as they were lead into the dimly lit restaurant and were seated against the wall. 

Dinner was uneventful. The food was good, and it was quiet enough that they could hear each other without having to shout, but Dean was antsy. They had been sitting for over two hours when Cas suggested they move over to the bar. Dean eagerly agreed and after a brief argument over who was going to pay - Cas won, insisting that Dean wouldn't pay twice in a row - they moved into the brighter, although slightly louder side of the building. 

Cas physically sat him down, pressing down on his shoulders until Dean agreed to stay put. He returned with a pair of beers, plopping down across from him. 

"You're more comfortable here," he commented, grinning as he clinked their bottles together.

"Guilty," Dean grinned. "This place is fancier than I expected."

"It's nice."

"Yeah, good choice Cas." He reached across the table, brushing his fingers over Cas' free hand. 

"I agree." 

The silence that fell between them was comfortable and Dean only realized it had been quiet when Cas started humming along to the music. They had been sitting and watching the dancers and Dean was half drunk already , which is probably why he hadn't noticed the humming earlier. 

He grinned up at the faint flush in Cas' cheeks, probably by alcohol rather than embarrassment for once. "what's up?" he asked, drawing Cas' attention away from the dancers.

"Hmm?"

"What're you thinking about?" Dean stopped himself a second too late, regretting opening his mouth the second the words dropped out. _Congratulations, you sound like an idiot._

"Will you dance with me?"

"What?"

"I just- nothing."

Dean was already on his feet and damn, this was probably a really bad idea, the last thing he needed was to be intoxicated and pressed right up against Cas. On the other hand, he would be intoxicated and pressed right up against Cas and naturally, the less sensible part of his brain was winning. He let Cas lead him out onto the dance floor and there was a little awkward shuffling when he realized he had no idea how to dance with another guy - it wasn't as though he was a big dancer.

"Do you want me to lead?" Cas smirked. Dean grumbled, but he let Cas take over. They weren't particularly graceful, but Dean let himself enjoy it. Cas smelled good, and felt good against him and he was humming again. The song was familiar, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly how he knew it, and he found himself singing along softly. 

"You like Elvis?" he asked.

"Yes, and The Beatles. Gabriel says I'm outdated."

Dean huffed a laugh, "he'd probably like Sam then. He thinks I'm incapable of listening to anything recorded after the 70s."

"I'm not going to help with that," Cas grinned. 

"You gonna be sticking around then?" he asked a little nervously.

"I'd like to." He released Dean's hand to brush over his cheek, fingers dragging along his rough jaw line. Dean shut his eyes, humming as he leaned into the touch.

Cas' lips found his, soft and sure, and Dean opened to him without hesitation, letting his arms loop around Cas' neck. They shifted slightly and Cas pulled him in closer, barely moving anymore other than a slight sway. 

They didn't break away until it became too difficult to breathe, and Dean settled his head on Cas' shoulder, pressing his nose into Cas' cheek. They didn't move through the next few songs, swaying gently, although slightly out of time with the music. 

Cas tilted his head against Dean's, singing in a hushed voice, " _from this moment on, I know exactly where my life will go, seems that all I really was doing, was waiting for love…_ "

Dean buried himself further in Cas' shoulder, pressing soft kisses into his neck. His lips trailed up behind Cas' ear, growing steadily more needy as he worked his way down his jaw, catching Cas' bottom lip between his teeth. 

Cas pulled back suddenly. "Can we go?" he asked. Dean froze, panicking slightly as Cas disentangled himself. Fuck. Fuck, he fucked up, Cas was going to leave and then- warm fingers pressed into his palm and his eyes shot up to see Cas smiling at him, starting backwards toward the door. He tugged gently on Dean's hand.

"Are you coming?"

"Yeah, coming. Yeah. Where are we going?" he asked as Cas pulled him back out into the cold air. 

"For a walk," he said simply, pulling Dean in to kiss him again. 

They wandered down the street for a while, bumping into each other as they went, hands clasped tightly between them. Cas was talking but Dean was only vaguely paying attention, trying to convince himself that pushing Cas down a dark alley and fucking him senseless was a bad idea. He held back a groan at the thought, clenching his jaw as he followed obediently after Cas. 

They'd only been out half an hour when it started to rain. Not the light rain that you could basically avoid if you walked fast enough, but an outright downpour. Cas immediately tugged his coat up over their heads, and Dean chuckled.

"I think we're gonna need a little more than that," Dean laughed, "we're like ten minutes from my building, c'mon." He grabbed Cas' hand and started off at a jog, but soon enough Cas was tugging him along impatiently. 

They managed to get to Dean's building in just over ten minutes, soaked and for Dean's part, out of breath. Cas chuckled as he crowded him into an elevator, kissing up his neck and under his chin. He broke away just long enough for Dean to press the button for his floor and then he was back again and Dean was beginning to think fucking him senseless was actually a very good idea. 

Dean's jacket was halfway down his arms when they stumbled into his apartment, letting the door slam shut behind them. He wasn't sure exactly how they managed to lose their jackets or end up on the couch without actually separating, but he ended up in Cas' lap, hands hanging over the back of the couch. 

Cas' hands were everywhere, up his back, dragging down over his hips as if he couldn't decide where to settle. He sucked at the underside of his jaw and Dean was damn sure he was going to leave a mark, he groaned at the thought, hips jerking forward sharply. Cas caught him as he pulled back, keeping him close and fuck, this was not the same shy genius he had met at the museum. Apparently all it took to get Cas to open up was a little alcohol, and damn, did he open up. 

Dean leaned back, sliding his hands over Cas' shoulders and down his chest. He grinned at the soft moans that dropped from Cas' lips, pressing his hands back up as he rocked his hips against him. Cas' hands slid under his shirt, and Dean only remembered they were still soaked when water droplets trailed down his back. He shifted to help Cas yank the shirt over his head, chuckling as it made a literal splatting sound on the floor somewhere behind him. Cas' mouth was on his chest in a second, hot against his cold, damp skin, and he arched into it with a groan. He was already hard in his jeans and the way Cas' tongue flicked over his nipple was doing nothing to dampen his arousal. 

He reached for Cas' shirt, half-numb fingers stumbling over the buttons in his rush. The shirt was shrugged off as soon as Dean had it undone, shoved over the back of the couch and in the same motion Dean caught Cas' mouth with his own, biting and sucking at his lip as he pressed against him. Cas shifted, sliding a hand under Dean's thigh and suddenly he was on his back, breath sucked from his lungs as Cas crouched over him. He was flushed and still wet from the rain and Dean could actually see how turned on he was and fuck. It took everything in him not to grab him and tug him down, but a voice in the furthest corner of his mind kept nagging at him that this was a really bad idea. 

Cas' hand found his cock through his jeans and the voice was tuned out in favour of the whimpering moans that he realized belatedly, were coming from him. He bucked his hips, one leg hooking around Cas' thigh as if to keep him in place. Dean shut his eyes, arching up off the couch and suddenly Cas was straddling him, grinding down hard and quickly pulling Dean's jeans open. 

That triggered the little voice in Dean's head, and as much as he tried to ignore it, pressing himself up against Cas' clothed erection, it worked its way up to the front of his mind. He groaned loudly at himself and he pressed a hand to Cas' chest, holding him back.

"Cas... we shouldn't- Dunno about you but I'm still pretty drunk and one of us is gonna regret this in the morning."

Cas leaned over him, kissing him deeply and Dean was practically moaning into it by the time he pulled away, "I would never regret this."

"Christ, Cas you're making this pretty fuckin' hard, c'mon. If we do this, I wanna be fully aware. I wanna remember everything."

Cas' chest was still heaving as he sat back on his heels with a reluctant nod, "yeah, okay. You're right." Dean shimmied out from underneath him, shuffling to his knees. He slipped his arms around Cas' waist, pressing their foreheads together.

"I want this," he whispered, kissing him soundly, "just not like this. I uh, I'll find you something dry to wear. Get those off and I'll be right back." He started toward the bedroom, cursing the stupidly logical part of his brain. 

When he returned to the living room, Cas had stripped down to his boxers and picked up their wet shirts from the floor. He stood up when Dean returned and Dean struggled to keep his eyes up, and not focussed on the strong lines of Cas' thighs or the way his boxers were tented obscenely.

"I uh," he mumbled, handing the rough stack of clothing out to him. "You can take my room if you want, I'll sleep on the couch."

"Dean, it's fine. I don't want to kick you out of your own bed," he smiled and slipped his fingers between Dean's, "the couch will be fine."

"You sure?" Cas nodded and he shrugged, "alright, if you wanna have a shower, knock yourself out, I'll set up the bed." He kept his eyes forward, focused on the couch as Cas crossed to the bathroom. 

When he returned, Dean discovered that Cas wearing his clothes was just about as bad as Cas wearing next to no clothes and he groaned at the way his cock twitched. Cas smiled at the pulled out bed and back up to Dean. He rose to his knees on the bed and shuffled over to Dean, pulling him down into an unhurried kiss. 

"Thank you," he smiled, dropping back onto his heels.

"You need anything else before I go to bed?"

"I'll be fine, Dean."

"'Night Cas."

"Goodnight, Dean."

\- - - 

Dean had to drag himself out of bed in the morning. It was way too early to be awake but he and Cas both had to work, and somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered that he had to go get his car before that could happen. He stretched and groaned and suddenly remembered that shit, it was Mary's birthday and he was gonna have to call her before she went to school. A quick glance at his clock told him he still had two hours until then, but he still rolled out of bed scrubbing his face. 

He didn't bother getting dressed, strolling out into the living room in just his pyjama pants. Cas smiled up at him from his seat on the couch, blankets and pillows all neatly folded next to him.

"Good morning."

"Dude, you put the bed back up already?"

"I was going to make breakfast, but I wasn't sure if you would have time."

"Seriously?" Dean grinned, he leaned down to kiss him and Cas' hands brushed up along his sides. Dean tugged him up off the couch, snaking his arms around Cas' waist. He hummed against Cas' mouth, drawing him closer as they broke apart. "God, if we had the time..."

"We don't," Cas reminded him softly, stealing another brief kiss before he pulled away. "You go have a shower, I'll make coffee."

"Sounds like a plan."

\- - -

"Hey, Mini Mom! What day is it today, hm?"

"My birthday!" she cheered down the phone.

"That's right Sweetheart, happy birthday!" Mary mumbled a shy _thank you_ in response and Dean grinned up at the sky. It was roughly a forty-five minute walk back down to his car, and they still had to get lunch and get to the museum before nine, so he called her on the way there.

"Okay Sweetheart, you have a good day at school and I'll see you tonight." He ended the call and shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Sorry," he grinned to Cas, "I wanted to catch her before they leave for school."

"It's alright," Cas replied, finding Dean's hand with his own, "do you think we have time to stop for breakfast?"

"If we eat on the way down." Cas agreed and they stopped at a little sandwich shop about ten minutes from the restaurant. 

The car was still sitting exactly where he'd left her, and Dean unlocked the door, sliding across to let Cas in as well. They drove down to the Cas' apartment in silence, though Dean's hand never left the man's knee. 

He dropped him off just outside the front door, watching as he walked around the front of the car. Cas leaned down and kissed him through the window. 

"I'll call you later," Dean promised, "I have a thing with the family tonight for Mary's birthday, but I'll call you."

Cas leaned down and kissed him again, "I'll talk to you later," he smiled. Dean paused before reversing out of the parking lot, waiting until Cas actually shooed him away before he left.

He smiled thoughtfully as he drove down the street, blaring AC/DC out the window. He arrived at the Roadhouse just before nine and some of the regulars were already sitting in their spots, talking casually over mugs of coffee. Dean waved hello to them and crossed to the back to start his shift. 

Jo questioned him not so subtly through the first two hours, but Dean insisted that nothing happened and he wasn't going to talk about it. He sat in the back with Ash on his first break, checking the messages on his phone. He clicked 'play all messages' and held the phone up to his ear. Sam's voice came through the line first.

_Hey, Dean. Can you pick up the cake on your way over? Jess was gonna get it, but she thinks she's gonna be working late. Let me know if you can't and I'll get Charlie to grab it. Thanks. Oh! And I know you and Cas are 'just friends' or whatever, but you should bring him._

He shook his head at Sam's message, but he was leaving a message on Cas' voicemail within minutes.

He didn't get a call back until he was on his way to the bakery, and he pulled over immediately, grabbing his phone from his pocket.

"Hey, Cas."

"Hello Dean, I got your message."

"Yeah? Sam says you should come."

"I don't know, they're _your_ family."

"C'mon, Cas they want you to be there. _I_ want you to be there."

"Okay," he conceded with a chuckle, "what time should I be there?"

"I'm on my way to get cake right now, if you're ready I can pick you up, if not... whenever?" 

"I'll be home shortly, if you want to come get me when you're done."

"Okay, gimme ten and I'll be there."

\- - - 

He stood in the hallway, feeling oddly like he should be holding a bouquet of flowers behind his back as he waited for Cas to answer the door. 

"Two seconds!" he called, and it was less than that before he was pulling the door open, still buttoning his shirt, "sorry, I just got out of the shower."

"I can see that," Dean grinned, pushing a hand through Cas' damp hair, "you just about ready to go?"

"Yeah, just let me get my coat." He pulled down the same coat he'd been wearing the previous night, presumably dry now, and they headed down to the car. 

He didn't bother knocking when they arrived, and they were immediately surrounded by a group of children who had no doubt seen the cake he was carrying. 

"Okay, guys watch your toes," he managed to squeeze through the crowd, setting the cake on the counter next to where Sam was leaning. 

"Hey," Sam grinned, peeking into the cake box. Dean pushed it away. 

"It's the right one. Only one cake for Winchester."

Sam ignored him, grinning instead at Cas as he followed Dean into the kitchen. "Hey Cas, how's it going?"

"Good," he smiled a little awkwardly, shifting closer to Dean.

"Dude, relax it's Sam, not Charlie," he leaned back against the counter next to his brother, sliding a subtle hand up Cas' back. A few of the kids were still peeking into the kitchen hoping for cake and Jess pushed herself up, crossing to the door.

"Not just yet, guys. Why don't we put on a movie till it's time for cake, hm?" this was met with a cheer and the kids ran back into the living room. Dean offered to help wrangle them all into the living room, flashing a quick, apologetic smile at Cas before leaving him alone with Sam. 

He had barely set foot in Mary's room when a flash of pink flew at him. He scooped her up into his arms.

"Uncle Dean!"

"Hey there princess," he kissed the top of her head.

"I'm Ariel!" 

"I can see that. Mom's gonna put a movie on, you guys wanna come sit in the living room now?"

"Mmhm," she nodded. He set her back down on the ground and she and the two other girls hurried out into the living room. Jess was leaning back against the wall as the first scene started and Dean probably shouldn't know the names of the songs, but yeah, he'd sat and watched The Little Mermaid with Jean more times than he could count.

"How many are there?" he asked

Jess laughed, "thirteen, and Charlie and Dorothy are bringing those two so fifteen."

"You're both insane," Dean grinned.

"Well we've only got them for a couple hours and Mary couldn't decide who she wanted to invite so we just let her bring everyone. Plus," she grinned, "we've got you to help us."

It wasn't long before the kids got bored with the movie and a few of the girls turned their attention to Dean. Charlie and Dorothy arrived just as he was adorned with a gold tiara and matching feather boa. 

"Well aren't you pretty," she grinned.

"Damn straight," he winked, "hey Dorothy."

"I have to admit, Dean, this is a side of you I've never seen before," Dorothy smirked as she crossed over to him, holding a very squirmy child.

"You're just jealous," he grinned, "alright kiddos, I gotta see my little Bean." Dorothy handed Jean over to him and he cuddled her as they headed back to the kitchen.

Sam nearly choked on his drink when he walked in, and Jess tried her best not to giggle at him.

"Oh shut up, both of you," he pulled the tiara off and stuck it on Sam's head. "What d'you think Bean? I think it's suits uncle Sam much better." He frowned around the kitchen for a second, turning back to Sam, "where's Cas?"

"Charlie pulled him away as soon as she saw him. I dunno."

"Awesome, alright Jeannie, let's go find out what Mom's done to Cas."

Luckily, Charlie had only gotten him as far as the dining room, but Cas was practically glowing, the same shade of pink as Dean's nails. 

"Hey, Char, whatcha talking about?"

"Nothing," she grinned innocently.

"Uh huh."

"So, you two set a date yet?"

Dean gaped at her, then turned back to Cas, "just gimme two seconds okay- can you watch Jean?"

"Of course," Cas replied, a little confused. He set Jean down on one of the chairs and pushed Charlie out into the hall. "I- I'm gonna kill you," he breathed.

"Oh come _on_ , it's so obvious you-"

"Yeah, we know," Dean nodded in exasperation.

"What?"

"Yeah, I didn't really think everyone was so involved in it, but yeah I kinda have a thing for Cas. I kinda have a thing _with_ Cas." He tried to keep his face straight, but the grin broke though and Charlie looked like she was about to cry. "Shut up," he mumbled.

"Dude, really? Are you like, _together_ then? Did you ask him out? Did _he_ ask _you_ out? This is a thing you're both aware of right, you're not just trying to give me an unnecessary heart attack, right? Tell me you've gone on at least one date."

"Yes-"

"Oh my God! I knew it! I _told_ Sam something was going on- Does Sam know? Can I tell him?"

"No-"

"You think it's gonna last? Are you gonna _marry him_?"

"Charlie-"

"Have you talked about kids? Dorothy and I-"

"Dude!" Dean shouted, finally silencing her.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself. I don't really know exactly where we stand. We've been on two dates. He asked me out first. Yes, we're both aware," he chuckled, "I'm not gonna marry him - not _yet_ , anyway and seriously? I'm barely used to having Jean, and she's almost two and I don't even have her half the time. Just _relax_."

Charlie grinned at him again, throwing her arms around his neck. "I'm just happy for you."

"Thanks, Char," he sighed, pulling her into a quick hug before letting her go. "I'm gonna go grab him now, I think Jess is doing cake soon."

"Right," she beamed.

Cas was sitting at the table with Jean in front of him when Dean got back and both of them were grinning. Jean cackled something at Cas and Dean pulled up a chair next to him, smoothing a hand down his thigh. 

"Are you okay?" Cas asked, not looking away from the toddler in front of him.

"Yeah," Dean chuckled, "Charlie can be a little... overwhelming, but she's awesome."

"I like her," Cas commented, turning toward him "and this-" he wrapped the end of the boa around his fingers, "I like this."

"Yeah, well," he held out his hand to display his pink nails, "she's a tough one to say no to. You feeling up to cake?"

Jean made an excited sound as the pair of them stood up and stretched her arms out to Cas. Dean glanced over at him with an expectant look. With an awkward responding look, Cas bent down to pick her up and Jean snuggled into his chest with a soft snuffling sound. Cas looked down at her with a soft smile and Dean bit the inside of his lip.

He nudged the chairs out of his way and brushed his fingers under Cas' chin, tilting his head up to kiss him. When he pulled away he ruffled Jean's hair with a little huff.

"Come on, let's go get cake."

Jess was just bringing the cake into the living room when they walked in and everyone was singing. Dean cringed, but joined in anyway. Cake and presents went by surprisingly quickly, and Dean retreated to the kitchen when they were done, offering to tidy up. 

He was singing softly to himself, elbow deep in dishwater, when Sam snuck up behind him. He paused, just short of jumping at Dean, to laugh.

"Dude are you singing 'Part of Your World?'"

"No," Dean shot back defensively, then muttered under his breath, "I was singing the reprise."

Sam cackled at him, clapping a hand on his shoulder, "welcome to fatherhood." He grabbed a dish towel and pulled a plate out of the rack. "So how was the date last night?"

"What?" he spun around to face Sam, "how the hell did you know I had a date? Shit, did you talk to Jo?"

Sam's expression would have been comical, if Dean didn't feel like he'd suddenly been put on the spot. He just stared at Dean, eyes wide and a smirk slowly pulling up at the corners of his mouth.

"Dude, I was _kidding_ , there was a Doctor Sexy marathon on last night, figured you'd have stuck yourself in front of the TV for hours. You had a date?"

Dean sighed, "yeah, I had a date."

"With Cas?"

"Shut up."

"No, come on, I'm serious. I like him."

"Yeah, with Cas."

"So?" Sam asked, eyes going wide with interest again.

Dean couldn't help the half-smile as he turned away, "it was good. Speaking of though, what'd you do with him?"

"Mary wanted to watch Tangled. Again. Cas offered to come help, but he was a little preoccupied with Jean and Kelly. He's watching the movie with the Moms. So, tell me about it?"

"About what?"

"Your date, dumbass. What'd you do?"

Dean sighed, explaining in as little detail as he expected to get away with; they ate, they danced, Cas slept on the couch. 

"He did what?"

"He slept on the couch, we walked down to pick up the car in the morning and I dropped him off at work."

"He slept on the couch. Not with you. Jesus, Dean when's the wedding?"

"Shut up, Charlie."

"No, I'm serious, Dean. The way you two look at each other is gross, you're like a goddamn Disney movie - dancing included," he smirked, "oh my God, you know what? It's like the lantern scene in Tangled." Dean cocked an eyebrow at him, scowling. "y'know, with the boat and-"

"I know, I've seen the movie like eight thousand times. It's not- whatever." He returned to the dishes in silence, trying to ignore the grin Sam was still wearing.

He paused after a while, drying his hands and leaning back against the counter. "Fuck," he muttered.

Sam looked up with concern, "what's up?"

"Look Sam, all joking aside, I think I'm in love with him..."

"What?" he was pretty sure Sam's eyes would actually pop out if they opened any wider.

"Cas, Sam. Cas. Oh Jesus, please tell me I'm not _Eugene_?"

Sam cracked up again, "no, dude, I'm pretty sure you're Rapunzel."

\- - - 

As the evening wore on, more and more kids were picked up until Jess slumped against the back of the couch, tugging Mary into a relived hug. 

"Did you have a good day, Baby?"

"Mmhm," Mary hummed, snuggling into her Mom's side. Dean was sitting on the arm of Cas' chair, bouncing Jean on his knee now that she had woken up and let go of Cas for five minutes. Kelly was sitting on the ground beneath them, shaking her stuffed rabbit at her.

Sam was leaning against the couch, so still Dean thought he had actually fallen asleep when he mumbled, "so why exactly don't you dance, Dean?"

"What?" he sputtered, pulling Jean in with one arm as he leaned forward. Cas glanced up at him questioningly, but Dean was more focused on his brother.

"I was just thinking about it," he gestured to the animated couple dancing on the TV, "what is that you have against dancing exactly?" he looked up with a grin and Dean frowned back at him.

"Nothing, I don't have anything against dancing."

"Dude, you wouldn't even dance and Bobby and Ellen's wedding. Only reason you did at mine is 'cause Jess made you." 

She grinned at him, nodding away. Charlie piped up suddenly to agree with Sam, apparently catching on to the 'game' if the look on her face was anything to go by.

"He's right, I don't think I've ever seen you dance."

"Fine, you know what, no, I don't dance. I avoid it if at all possible. It's not that I don't like dancing, I just-" he shrugged, "I will end you."

Sam burst out laughing, tossing his head back against the couch and Dean could feel the heat rise in his cheeks. Cas' hand rested on his thigh, curling around the fingers of Dean's free hand. Dean grinned down at him, leaning back against the chair and mumbling, "I actually am going to kill them all."

It was nearly nine by the time they left and the kids had all fallen asleep. Dean had to all but pry Jean off of Cas to give her back to Dorothy. 

He was pulling his jacket on in the kitchen when Cas came up behind him.

"Are you okay?"

Dean grinned, pulling Cas' arms around his waist. "Better now, but yeah, I'm alright. Family's just being family."

"So you _don't_ dance?"

"Not really," he huffed a little laugh as Cas kissed his neck.

They said a quick goodbye to everyone and Dean accepted the chunk of cake Sam shoved at him with a laugh before he drove back to Cas' apartment to drop him off. 

Cas got out and walked around the car, leaning down until Dean rolled the window down.

"We should do dinner. Wherever you want to go, we can order pizza or something, I don't care. Just us, no family to tease you." 

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmhm. Are you busy tomorrow?"

"I work nights all this week," Dean frowned, "Saturday?"

"Okay. I guess I won't see you until then?" 

"Maybe I'll bring Jean in to see the dinosaurs."

"You know where to find me."

Dean leaned out the window, kissing him slowly until the few raindrops turned in to too many too ignore and Cas pulled away.

"Tonight was fun, you have a wonderful family."

"I know," Dean grinned, "I'll talk to you later okay?" 

Cas stepped back under the cover, waving as he drove away. 

\- - -

The week passed impossibly slowly. He spoke to Cas most nights via text messages on his break, teasing him for how formally he typed. It was amusing, and Jo constantly joked about the stupid grin on his face, but Dean was getting frustrated. He wanted to see Cas, more than anything, and it hadn't even been a whole week. 

On Friday afternoon he gave in. It was Halloween and they were doing trick-or-treating at the museum, Kelly and Mary were at school, but he bundled Jean into her Ewok costume, packed her into the car and drove to the museum. He was able to convince himself it wasn't just a stupid excuse to see Cas until they practically ran into him in the front hall. He smiled apologetically, explaining that he was just about to start a tour as he hurried away.

"Alright then, Bean, you wanna go look at the dinos?" She nodded and they headed in that direction, but their visit to the dinosaur exhibit was cut short when she spotted a giant plush T-Rex outside the kid's activity area.

"Rex!" she whined, pointing with one hand while the other curled around Dean's sleeve, "Rex, Da!"

"You wanna go see the stuffed Rex?" He took her over to it and Jean immediately hugged it's snout, refusing to let go until Dean pointed out the colouring pages on the table. She squirmed away until he let her down, then waddled over to the table where two other kids were already sitting. 

Dean plopped her on a chair and pulled over a sheet from the stack, letting her pick her own crayon to colour with. He knelt on the floor next to her, picking up a blue crayon after a few minutes and filling in the secondary dinosaur in the picture with one hand on her back.

"Hey there."

Dean glanced up to see a tall blonde woman looking down at him, "hey."

"She's a sweetheart, looks just like you."

"Thanks," he grinned politely. Looking back up, he realized she was staring down at him, a little too much makeup around her eyes and shirt cut a little too low for a museum. 

"Cute costume."

"Yeah, Mom dressed her," he chuckled

"Oh, I didn't-"

"No- oh no, Mom and I- we're not-"

"So stop me if I'm being too forward here, but it's so hard to find guys who are good with kids-"

"I should stop you right there. I'm not with Mom, but I'm kinda taken. Happily," he added, trying to force the stupid grin down. 

"Oh, right."

Her eyes flicked up to the door and Dean turned around just in time to see Cas walking away, directing a guest down the hall. He flushed and returned his gaze to Jean's drawing.

"Is he the one you were talking about?"

"I uh- yeah," he grinned, "that's him."

"Lucky guy."

" _I_ am."

Jean tired of drawing quickly and, thankfully, tugged Dean away in the direction of the dinosaurs. He let her lead him around for half an hour before she got tired and curled up under a wax horse. Dean scooped her up and she rubbed her face into his chest, sniffling.

"You okay, Babe?" he tipped her chin back and she whined at him, burying herself in his shirt again. "Okay, maybe time to go home then, huh? Alright, I'm gonna go tell Cas I'm takin' you home, then we'll go."

When they found Cas he was leading another tour, so Dean slipped in at the back, he could wait for it to finish, or sneak up to the front when Cas had a minute free. He wasn't with them very long before a hand pressed down on his shoulders and he only just saw Cas' head shoot up as he turned around to face a smiling redhead.

"You're Dean, right?" she asked

"Uh, yeah..." 

She held out a hand and Dean shook it without much hesitation, "I'm Anna. Cas' sister. Look, I don't know what you've done to my brother, but I don't think I've seen him so happy in my entire life."

"I uh, I haven't really done anything... I don't think?" He glanced back at Cas who was now turned away, but flushing an incredibly dark shade of red. 

"You must have done something. Are you around for a bit? Cas is supposed be getting coffee with me on his lunch break, you should join us."

He glanced down to where Jean was snoring softly and shrugged, "I think I could spare a few minutes."

"Why don't you come sit with me and we can talk until Cas is done?" Dean agreed cautiously, feeling like a kid in the principal's office, not knowing whether he was going to get in trouble or not.

It was a long ten minutes before Cas finished his tour. He walked toward them wearing a suspicious smile and slid along the bench next to Dean, squeezing his hand under the table. 

"I'm not sure which one of you I should kill first," he grinned across at Anna.

"I haven't done anything," Anna insisted. "I only asked how serious he was, y'know when he's ready to get married and- I mean he's already got the kid thing covered."

All the colour drained from Cas' face and Dean squeezed his hand encouragingly, "and here I thought Charlie was bad."

"The pair of them are going to be the death of me," Cas sighed. 

"Hey!" Anna shot back, "I was being nice."

"I'm sure you were," Cas grinned. "Is she alright?" he added to Dean. 

"I think she's getting a cold, nothing too bad."

"You should get her home," he offered, and Dean agreed. They both got up and Dean said a quick goodbye to Anna, before Cas practically dragged him away. 

"I'm sorry," he mumbled as they approached the front desk, "I told you she had the same big sister complex."

"Right," Dean grinned, "she's not that bad. What are you doing?" he asked as Cas leaned over the counter.

"I uh, I got this," he held out a small stuffed T-Rex, "she was asleep the other day when the kids got their things so..."

"That's sweet Cas, thank you."

Cas shrugged, "I'll walk you to your car."

\- - - 

When they got back to the apartment, Dean kicked his boots off and plopped Jean down on the couch with her dinosaur. He grinned down at her and turned away to turn the DVD player on. The Last Unicorn was sitting on top of it, still out from the last time he'd had her. Jean loved it and it was there, so he put the disc in and flopped down on the couch next to her, tugging her into his lap. 

"Wanna watch the unicorn?" he asked, pulling her against his stomach.

"Mm," she nodded, and snuggled into him, squeezing the little T-Rex. 

She was asleep in less than ten minutes but it took Dean half an hour to get up and put her to bed. It was times like this that he was thankful she was a girl - Kelly had been a little terror when he was young, and _never_ went to bed without a fight. Jean snuggled into her pillow with a soft mumbling sound and Dean leaned over to kiss her cheek, instinctively humming the first few lines of Hey Jude. 

When he was sure she wasn't going to wake up again, he wandered back into the living room to watch the rest of the movie on his own. 

It was six o'clock the following morning when he woke up again, and every inch of his body hurt. He groaned when he heard Jean whimpering from her room, and pushed himself up off the couch, pretty sure that he could hear his joints creak.

"I'm getting too damn old for this," he mumbled. His head was pounding and it felt like something blunt was trying to push his eyes out of his head. Jean didn't seem much better when he went to get her. "Yeah, me too Babe," she fisted a hand in his shirt, whimpering and sniffling at the same time. "Let's get you into a bath before Mommy comes to get you, hm?" 

He had barely started running the bath when the phone rang and he had to carry a slightly damp child into the kitchen to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Are you okay? You sound awful"

"Hey, Char, what's up?"

"I'm running a little late, I'm not gonna be by until about ten if that's okay?"

"Yeah, it's cool. She's having a bath because we both woke up with colds this morning. So yeah."

"Yeah, Kelly's staying home today, I think he picked it up at school. Anyway, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"See you later then."

"Seeya."

\- - -

Charlie had only just walked out the door when he remembered Cas. Fuck. He picked up the phone and slumped back onto the couch. The phone rang twice before Cas picked up cheerfully.

"Hey, Cas," he grumbled.

"What's wrong?"

"Look, I hate to do this, but I'm gonna have to cancel tonight," he groaned internally as he spoke, cursing his body, "I woke up with this terrible cold and I don't wanna give it to you, I feel like shit."

"It's okay," Cas assured him, but he could hear the disappointment in his voice. He would have smiled at the fact that Cas was disappointed not to see him, but he was willing to bet that he was more put out than Cas was. "Just rest, we'll reschedule when you're feeling better."

"Yeah, we will."

Cas chuckled, "take care of yourself, I'll call you later."

"Thanks, Cas."

After he hung up, Dean wandered around aimlessly for a little while. He showered and then got everything out to make breakfast, and had it all put away a few minutes later and bread in the toaster. Everything took way too much energy. He dropped onto a kitchen chair, tipping his head back and closing his eyes. He heard the toast pop, but by the time he dragged himself out of the chair, it was nearly cold.

Cold toast in hand, Dean grabbed a spare blanket and curled into the corner of the couch, flicking through the channels. There was an all-day Dr. Sexy MD marathon on, and he settled on that. At least one thing was going right, he thought, though having a real life Dr. Sexy would be a much better alternative. 

He woke up to the sound of knocking on the door, some foggy dream involving Cas and scrubs still bouncing around in his head. He staggered over to the door, still half asleep and pulled the door open, expecting to see Sam or Charlie. Instead, Cas was standing in the doorway, looking a little sheepish and holding a plastic bag in each hand. 

"I brought you soup. It has to be cooked but, I don't mind. Are you feeling any better?"

"I am now," Dean grinned, "come on, I was just watching TV."

"Oh," Cas said, "that's another thing," he held out one of the bags to Dean, "I couldn't remember if it was Star Wars or Star Trek you wanted me to watch so I got both..."

"What?"

"I picked up the original Star Wars trilogy and the first season of Star Trek... I figured since you weren't doing anything else..."

Was this guy even real? "You're amazing, Cas. I swear to God, if I wasn't sick I would kiss you right now."

"You can kiss me later, right now I want you to go sit down while I make you soup."

Dean grinned, "yes sir." He took the second bag from Cas, crossing to the TV. "So, Star Wars or Star Trek, take your pick."

"Whichever one was the movies."

"You're adorable," Dean mumbled. "How'd you know which ones to get anyway?"

"I, uh, I told the guy working there that my boyfriend wanted to watch them and I didn't know which ones were right... he helped me find them."

"Your boyfriend?" Dean cocked an eyebrow, turning toward the kitchen.

"You're the one who is ' _happily taken_ ' if I recall."

"Oh, _oh_."

"Put the movie on, Dean, this will only be a minute."

Dean grinned to himself and continued. He was struggling to pull the bed out when Cas came over to him. He set the soup down and helped Dean pull it out, settling on one side when Dean had shoved pillows and blankets in place. 

Dean sat down next to him, pulling a blanket over his lap as Cas shoved the bowl of soup at him.

"Eat it," he insisted, and Dean did, trying not to burn his face as the infamous music started to play.

"Read this," he mumbled, pointing at the screen, "it's important."

Cas focused on the screen as Dean finished his soup and set the bowl aside. He curled up on his side, already exhausted again, and Cas shuffled around a little, pulling Dean's head into his lap. 

He didn't remember falling asleep, but when he opened his eyes he was stretched out and Cas was lying next to him. There were blankets over him that had definitely not been there before, but he still felt cold, and more than a little pathetic. He made a sound that was supposed to come out as a word, but ended up being a whine, and yeah, he sounded a lot like Jean when she was sick. Pulling the blankets up over his shoulder, he curled into himself a little more, willing himself warm. 

"Are you okay?"

"Cold," he muttered, shrugging his shoulders. Cas hummed, shifting down to wrap an arm around Dean's waist, he shuffled closer until they were pressed together, Dean's head just tucked under his chin. 

It took him a minute to realize there was a hand combing through his hair, and even longer to realize that it belonged to Cas. He pressed up into it and Cas hummed, half asleep himself if his voice was anything to go on. He was mumbling something against Dean's head and Dean curled in closer, just getting comfortable before Cas rolled him back away. The sound that came out of his mouth was way whinier than he would ever admit to and Cas chuckled, pushing himself up.

"You need to put proper pyjamas on and make the bed, I'm not letting you sleep in jeans."

It took a couple of minutes, but Dean eventually dragged himself up and into the bedroom. He changed into plaid pyjama bottoms and tugged a grey hoodie over his head to fight off the cold. 

Cas was in the kitchen when he returned to the living room, and the bed had been properly made up with additional blankets and pillows.

"Here," Cas held out his hand, offering four small white pills, "vitamin c and Advil, they'll help." 

Dean took them without hesitation, swallowing them with a glass of water that Cas had set next to the couch for him. "I um," he started, taking the glass back into the kitchen, "I've got pyjamas you can borrow if you want to stay and hang out with a sick person all night."

"Could you bring them in here, I'll just be a second."

"What are you doing?" Dean chuckled, peering around the partition.

"Ordering pizza," Cas grinned, "what do you want?"

"Everything, I'm freakin' starving. I'm good with anything, just not vegetarian."

\- - - 

They put Star Wars back on and managed to get halfway through this time before getting distracted. Cas pressed kisses into his hair, trailing down the side of his neck, along his jaw, and Dean leaned into them humming softly as his eyes dropped shut. Shitty as he felt, he couldn't remember the last time he had been so content. Cas adjusted himself, breathing softly against him and leaning down to kiss his mouth, even when Dean pushed him away. His protests went unheeded as Cas drew him in again, pressing their lips together softly. 

"If I'm going to get sick, it's going to happen whether I kiss you or not," he insisted.

"This isn't exactly the date I was hoping for," Dean mumbled.

"I think it's alright," Cas smiled, kissing him again. Dean was about to pull him over when there was a knock on the door. He groaned audibly, but Cas grinned and jumped up to answer the door in nothing but Dean's pyjama pants as if it was no big deal. From where Dean was lying, the woman with the pizza seemed a little flustered, and she nearly left before Cas could pay her. 

Dean smirked at Cas as he returned to the bed with two large pizza boxes, "looks like you've got a fan." Cas mumbled something incoherent and flipped open the first box. "Can't say I blame her though," Dean hummed, sliding one hand up Cas' back, "what'd you get?"

"Vegetarian and meat lovers, they asked me to repeat the order twice." 

Dean laughed and leaned back against the couch, pulling the box onto his lap. "Star Wars and pizza," he grinned, "you really are perfect."

\- - -

Heat engulfed him, and he groaned as he rolled out of Cas' arms. Everything was hot and sticky and felt rather disgusting. Climbing out of bed carefully, he made his way to the bathroom and turned on the shower. 

Cas left in the afternoon, and Dean spent the rest of the day moping around and feeling sorry for himself until he finally fell asleep. The next day he was feeling a bit better, but he stayed in bed anyway, watching whatever happened to be on TV and texting Cas and Sam to tell them how bored he was. 

When he woke up on the third day, it was as though he had never been sick at all and he suddenly realized how long he had taken breathing properly for granted. He showered and got dressed before spending a good two hours cleaning the entire apartment that had been left in a mess for the past few days.

He went down to the museum at noon with a gift for Cas. He remembered talking about the book the previous week, and when he spotted it in a second hand shop, he couldn't help but buy it, a stupid grin plastered on his face. It was dumb and sappy, but that seemed to be where his life was heading, so screw it. He bought his maybe-boyfriend a sappy gift - he was allowed to. 

Cas loved the book, accepting it with a wide grin as he not so subtly pulled Dean away into a quiet corner. He pressed up against him, kissing him soundly, "let's go out tonight," he hummed, just barely grazing the skin f Dean's neck with his teeth. 

"You have anywhere particular in mind?" 

"Not really," Cas mumbled, pulling Dean's arms around his waist, "somewhere quiet."

"Good," Dean smirked, "'cause I have an idea." He flipped them around, pressing Cas into the wall with a brief, but forceful kiss. "I'll pick you up at six."

\- - - 

He picked Cas up at six, but they didn't leave the apartment until eleven. It took nearly an hour to decided what to see once Dean had explained his drive-in plan, but they had eventually decided on the midnight screening of Thor: The Dark world. Naturally, Dean had insisted on Cas watching the first one before they left and when Cas had assured him he didn't need to see it, Dean had only grinned and told him he was lucky he didn't make him watch The Avengers too. 

The theatre was way outside town, just over an hour out, and the road was pitch black except for the Impala's headlights and the reflective stripes on the road. Dean couldn't remember the last time he had been to see a movie just because he wanted to and most of the ones he saw these days were animated. If he was with anyone else, he might have actually been excited for the movie, but all he could concentrate on was the man next to him staring casually out the window, one hand curled loosely around his own. He wasn't exactly sure how Cas had managed to worm his way into Dean's life in such a huge way in only a month, but Dean was pretty sure he was okay with it. 

He shot a quick grin at Cas which was returned with a dip of Cas' chin. It was something in his eyes, Dean thought, piercing and yet somehow so soft and full of love and kindness. He chuckled to himself, suddenly aware of just how much he was beginning to sound like an awful greeting card, and he squeezed Cas' hand a little tighter.

It was almost exactly midnight when he pulled into the lot. It was surprisingly busy for a little place in the middle of nowhere, but they managed to find a little open area and Dean parked the car while Cas went off to get popcorn and drinks. Dean climbed out onto the hood to watch for him, and lay back, shivering a little against the cold metal, to look up at the stars. 

"I always like the country better," Cas commented, staring up at the sky when Dean jerked up to see him, "you can see all the stars."

"Yeah, I was thinking I might bring the kids out here to see a movie sometime. In the summer, when we can sit on the hood - when they're older. You could come with us." Cas tilted his head to one side and Dean shifted awkwardly, realizing what he had basically implied.

"I would love to," Cas smiled at him, "but tonight it's cold, and I think we would be better off sitting inside."

They climbed back into the car and Dean locked his door, leaning back against it so Cas could slid between his legs, tilting his head back on Dean's chest. Dean's arms wound around his waist, hands covering Cas' where he held the popcorn bucket in place.

As the movie went on, the popcorn bucket found it's way to the floor and Cas' hand made it's way higher up Dean's thigh from it's original place on his arched knee. It was becoming increasingly difficult to pay attention with Cas stroking the underside of his thigh, and his own hand slipped under the hem of Cas' shirt, sliding up over his stomach. A faint sigh dropped from Cas' lips as he arched into the touch, sliding further back into Dean. He braced himself on Dean's knee, sliding his head to one side to kiss him.

"We should go," he puffed, and Dean nodded only just realizing how heavily he was breathing. They were back on the highway in five minutes. 

Dean tried, he really did, but when Cas' hand slid from his thigh to palm at his half hard cock, he was barely able to focus on the road. Cas had his seatbelt off in another few seconds and he was popping the button on Dean's jeans, then he was leaning over the seat, sliding a hand beneath Dean's waistband. 

Dean moaned as Cas pulled his length free of its confines and he swore his heart actually stopped as wet heat enveloped him. His whole body tensed instantly and he curled his fingers into Cas' hair, groaning loudly. If it had been difficult to concentrate with Cas touching him, it was nothing compared to the problem he was having with his cock in Cas' mouth. He swerved off to the side of the road, killing the engine and pushing Cas off of him as he slid across the seat and climbed into his lap. 

"You're going to be the death of me," he mumbled, catching Cas' mouth in a hungry kiss.

"I certainly hope not." Cas' hands settled on his waist, and Dean rolled his hips, sliding his damp cock against Cas' stomach with a soft moan. His fingers worked at unzipping the man's jacket and shoving it off his shoulders while Cas pushed his jeans down to his ankles and wiggled out of his own. 

The slow grind of skin on skin drove him insane, soft groans dropping freely from his lips as he rocked into Cas' lap, rutting against him like a fucking teenager. He wasn't really able to think about it and Cas didn't seem to mind, holding Dean's hips tightly and pressing up to meet him with each thrust. He moaned into Dean's mouth, stroking both of them together, his steady pace increasing quickly now until he was pumping fast and needy in time with Dean's stuttered thrusts.

"Hngh," was the only thing Dean could manage to say as Cas pressed a thumb against his slit. He jerked forward hard, dropping his head to Cas' shoulder with a loud whine. Cas' free hand slid down over Dean's ass, pressing between his cheeks at the tight ring of muscle. Dean pushed back into the touch instantly, his teeth grazing Cas' shoulder as he moaned the man's name into his neck. 

" _Cas_ ," he breathed, all but whimpering as a single digit was pushed into him. " _fuck_ , Cas."

His thrusts increased as Cas worked his finger in and out, fucking himself back on Cas' hand and rubbing their cocks together until they were both sweating and breathless. 

He shoved Cas' shirt up, disregarding the buttons as he thumbed circles over his nipples and sucking marks into his neck. He was close, so fucking close, and if he could just sink down a little further- Dean nearly cried out as Cas brushed over his prostate. Cas' finger found the sensitive bundle of nerves again and Dean's thighs shook.

Dean came with a cry, a death grip on Cas' shoulder. He covered Cas' hand with his own, and Dean continued to stroke them both. Cas thrust up a few more times, groaning softly, before spilling over their joined hands. He collapsed back against the seat and Dean followed, panting and leaning on his elbows. It was hot and a little uncomfortable, but neither of them moved more than their heads, falling into a deep kiss. 

Dean eventually pulled himself up, pressing a final kiss to Cas' lips. "Well, that was unexpected," he huffed, disentangling himself from Cas. Cas chuckled as Dean shrugged out of his jacket and over shirt, using the latter to clean up the mess. They tugged their pants back on with some difficulty in the small space and Cas kissed him again and leaned back against the seat.

"So," he chuckled, "what now?"

"You can come back to my place if you want."

"That sounds like a very good idea."

Dean tossed the dirty shirt into the backseat and slid back behind the wheel with a grin. He adjusted the radio as Cas' hand returned to settle on his knee. 

It was just past two when Dean pulled into his building's underground parking. They caught the elevator up and Cas lounged on the couch while Dean went into the kitchen to get drinks. When he returned to the living room Cas grinned up at him, holding out both hands. Dean smirked and set the drinks down, allowing Cas to pull him onto the couch.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" he hummed.

"It's like, two-thirty am."

"I'm not tired."

"In that case, _I_ have a suggestion." He leaned over to kiss Cas' neck as he slid off his lap. Cas followed him up without a word, lips locked together as they stumbled toward the bedroom. 

Cas fell back onto the bed, shuffling up so Dean could climb up after him. He grinned up at Dean, encouraging him with nothing but a quirk of his lips and Dean barely restrained himself from leaping forward and kissing him breathless. Instead, he shoved at Cas' shirt, undoing a few of the buttons and dragging it over his head, and he kissed a line down his chest, slow and soft. After coming in Cas' lap, he fully intended to draw this out as long as he could and Cas seemed pretty on board with that plan, pushing his hands under the pillows as his eyes fell shut. 

Dean crawled over him, pressing every inch of himself against Cas as he kissed him. His hands wove through Cas' hair, and Cas' found their way to his waist, arms wrapping tightly around him. The sheets bunched up beneath them as Dean rolled his hips, drawing soft contented noises from Cas. 

Their relaxed kisses grew more heated and Cas managed to pull Dean's shirt over his head in the few seconds they separated to breathe. Dean broke away again, breathing heavily through his nose as he trailed open-mouthed kisses down Cas' chest, dipping his fingers just beneath his waistband. The cut off moan from above distracted him momentarily, and he rose to his knees, just far enough away that Cas was able to undo Dean's jeans and get them down past his hips before Dean was kissing him again. 

He had Cas' jeans around his ankles shortly in retaliation, running his hands up strong thighs, just sliding under the edge of his boxers before pulling back again. Lowering himself to kiss down Cas' thighs, he pushed the pants off entirely and spread Cas' legs with a soft nudge of his knee. The higher up he got, the less control Cas seemed to have over what was coming out of his mouth. Soft, shuddering sighs filled the air, bringing a smirk to Dean's lips. He nosed at the line of Cas' cock through his boxers, grinning as Cas squirmed.

" _Dean_ ," Cas grinned. He tugged Dean back up over him, kissing him soundly as he hands roamed down over Dean's ass, shoving his jeans a little further down as he kneaded the soft flesh. Dean ground down against him, groaning at the barrier of clothing still in the way. He was rock hard already, pressed uncomfortably against the front of his jeans. He thought about losing the jeans all together but Cas grabbed his hand before he could move, rolling Dean onto his back and twining their fingers together as he covered his chest in too-soft kisses.

He let Cas lead as he rose up and dropped back down to his elbows again to kiss him, moaning as Dean cupped his cock. He wrapped his fingers around Cas through the thin material, giving long, slow strokes that had Cas panting into Dean's chest. Without any warning, Dean flipped them again so Cas was on his back. He groaned as Dean's hand slipped beneath the waistband on his boxers, fingers curling around his length. 

Cas' hips jerked into each stroke and Dean settled beside him, kissing the soft grunts and moans from his lips. One of Cas' hands fumbled with his jeans for a minute before just pushing them out of the way. Dean inhaled sharply as the cool air hit him, shifting to let Cas pull his jeans and boxers away in one swift motion. He groaned loudly at the first press of Cas' hand, bucking up desperately into the touch, needing the contact. 

He leaned in to Cas, grinding against him as Cas stroked him, shifting closer with each huff of breath. Cas caught him in a deep kiss, rolling his hips against Dean and making it perfectly clear how badly he wanted him. Dean instinctively followed the motion with his own body, every inch of them pressed together. He rolled Cas back onto his back, pulling away grudgingly to tug his boxers down. Pausing once they had been tossed to the floor behind him, he stared down at Cas, a small smile playing on his lips.

"You're damn gorgeous, you know that?"

Cas folded his arms over his head, trying to roll away, but Dean pressed his knees into the sides of Cas' shins, "you are." He bent down, pressing open-mouthed kisses up Cas' thigh, pausing to look up at him for a second before continuing up his cock. 

Cas arched up beneath him, mumbling. He gasped as Dean flicked his tongue at the head of his cock, falling back to the bed with a whine. The desperate noises only encouraged Dean, and he pressed his lips around the head, eyes flicking up to Cas' face as he sunk down, taking his entire length at once. 

" _Dean_ ," Cas groaned, hips bouncing lightly against the mattress, "hnn..."

Dean hummed around him, barely holding back a grin as Cas bit his lip, dragging one arm across his face. " _Fuck_ , Dean-" Cas' face pinched up with pleasure and Dean's cock twitched against his thigh. He pulled off and sat back on his heels, staring down at Cas. 

"How the hell did I end up with you?" 

Cas grinned and dragged him back down again, kissing him roughly as he rubbed them together between their heaving chests. Dean reached blindly toward the nightstand, rolling Cas with him as he managed to get the drawer open and grab the bottle of lube. Cas' hand came up to cover his, taking the bottle away with a nip of his lips.

He pushed Dean back into a sitting position, squirting lube directly onto Dean's cock. It was cold, but as soon as Cas' hand wrapped around him he thrust forward into it, biting off a moan when Cas' fingers slid over his head. He rocked into Cas' hand, head thrown back as slick fingers slid down to cup his balls, massaging gently. 

A shuddering breath drew his attention and he looked down to Cas with his eyes clamped shut, one hand pressed between his legs, working himself open. 

" _Oh Jesus, Cas_ ," he ran a hand along the inside of Cas' thigh, receiving only a series of soft grunts in return. "So fuckin' perfect, Cas," he mumbled, jacking himself absentmindedly, lip caught between his teeth. 

Cas' eyes flashed open, meeting Dean's in a heated gaze, " _Dean_ ," he breathed. Dean leaned forward, hands on either side of Cas' head as he kissed him. Cas wrapped a hand around him, stroking him slowly before guiding him down.

Their eyes met again, keeping contact as Dean slid in carefully. He bottomed out with a little huff, running his hands up Cas' chest.

"Okay?" he asked. 

"Very," he sighed, rolling his hips to encourage Dean. 

He started out slowly, pulling almost all the way out and pressing in again inch by inch. Cas was having none of it. He bucked his hips, groaning impatiently until Dean picked up the pace with a soft laugh. 

"So impatient," he teased, his words coming out harsh and breathy. 

"I've waited long enough," Cas huffed, drawing Dean in to kiss him, "wanted you for so long."

"God, me too," Dean gave a sharp thrust of his hips that had Cas moaning and digging his nails into Dean's shoulders. Cas rocked up beneath him, meeting Dean's every thrust and muttering things that were very un-Cas-like and only succeeded in spurring Dean on. 

Cas' hands were everywhere, fingers digging into Dean's skin and clinging to the sheets as Dean drove in hard. He bit at Cas' neck and jaw, dragging his teeth along the rough stubble, groaning as waves of pleasure rolled over him. 

Cas cried out, one hand clawing at Dean's arm, " _right there_ ," he rasped, " _Dean, right_ -" Dean thrust forward again, bracing himself on Cas' hips. He got lost in Cas' cries, slamming into him harder and harder as Cas' hand flew up to his own leaking cock, jerking himself roughly. 

He came shouting Dean's name to the ceiling, hips still jerking up slowly as his spent cock bobbed against his stomach. Dean grunted, fingers gripping Cas' hips as he fucked into him with a series of quick, deep thrusts, coming with a stifled cry as Cas leaned up to kiss him. 

They fell together, tangling in the sheets as Dean breathed heavily against Cas' chest. When his heartbeat returned to normal, he pulled out slowly, flopping onto his back with a huff. He was too hot, and sticky with sweat and drying come, but he couldn't remember the last time he felt this fucking good. He rolled onto his side, catching Cas' mouth in a soft kiss. 

"I'm sorry," he breathed, running a hand over the dark marks blossoming over Cas' hips. 

"I've had worse," Cas grinned. Dean frowned at the sudden rush of jealousy and Cas laughed, cupping his chin to kiss him. "My brothers, I mean. I came home most days covered in bruises because of the things Gabriel convinced me would be fun." He rolled away from Dean, squirming back against him and tilting his head up. "I'm never moving again."

"Not tonight," Dean leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his temple.

As they drifted off Cas shifted, curling in towards Dean. Dean grinned at him, taking in the soft lines of his face as he slept. 

"Would it be totally insane if I told you I loved you?" he asked softly, "because I love you. Jesus," he breathed, shaking his head at himself. He pressed a kiss to the top of Cas' head, winding his arm tighter around him as the man nuzzled into his neck. 

\- - -

Warmth washed over him, and Dean was vaguely aware of someone speaking near him, though it seemed far away. He hummed a non-committal response and shifted slightly, still not opening his eyes. 

"Did you mean it?"

"Hm?" Dean mumbled.

"Did you mean what you said last night?"

That got his attention. 

He was suddenly very aware of Cas leaning over him, one leg hooked around his own. His eyes flashed open. 

"What?" he demanded, heart racing. His hands flew up to cover his eyes, Cas had been asleep, he was asleep, he was _not_ supposed to hear that. Cas chuckled softly and pulled his hands away gently, meeting Dean's gaze. He kissed him slowly, lazily, before leaning back with a smile.

"I love you too."

Cas leaned back down, climbing over Dean to straddle him and pulling the blankets back up over him. Dean arched up, catching Cas' mouth with his own and dragging him down. He rolled his hips lightly, pleased with the soft sigh he got in return. 

"I love you," he whispered, and Cas hummed angling his head to press lazy kisses down Dean's neck. Shivers ran down Dean's spine and he lifted his hips again, rocking against the hard line of Cas' erection.

Cas stopped suddenly, pulling away and holding Dean down.

"What?" Dean asked, already near breathless.

"The door," Cas sighed, "someone's at the door."

Dean groaned and pulled the blanket over their heads, but Cas shoved it away. "Go get the door, I'm not going anywhere." Dean climbed out of bed grudgingly, pulling on the first clothes he came across.

He opened the door to Sam with an armful of children, Kelly standing patiently next to him.

"'Morning," he chuckled, "late night?"

"You could say that, what's up?" 

Sam let Mary down and she and Kelly scrambled up on the couch together. "It's noon, and you have the kids today. You didn't forget, right?"

"No, 'course not," Dean lied, suddenly vividly recollecting his conversations with Charlie and Jess. Sam's eyes flicked up over his shoulder and back to Dean's, and Dean turned around to see Cas leaning in the doorway, wearing a pair of Dean's pyjamas with an amused grin.

"Hey, Cas," Sam smiled, his eyes widening as he looked back to Dean. 

"Hello, Sam." The voice was suddenly right behind him and Dean turned to look into Cas' face. "I'm going to have a shower, I'll only be a few minutes."

Dean had to resist the urge to kiss him, not sure whether to be amused or disappointed at the clothes Cas held strategically over his crotch. Sam opened his mouth - most likely to ask about Cas, Dean thought - but Kelly interrupted him, tugging on Dean's pyjama pants.

"Why is Cas here?" he asked. 

Dean looked to his brother for assistance, but Sam looked like he was on the verge of exploding, trying to hold back a laugh. He shook his head, "oh no, you get this one."

"He's uh- he's..." he shot an I'm-going-to-kill-you look at Sam, then turned back to Kelly with a smile, "we were watching a movie last night and he got tired, so he slept here."

"Is he gonna hang out with us today?"

"You'll have to ask him when he gets out of the shower." This seemed to appease him and he scurried back to the couch with Mary.

"Anyway," Sam said, "I've gotta get going," he handed Jean over to Dean, and set a princess backpack down on the floor next to him. "Jess is picking them up after work, so call me later okay?" he nodded toward the bathroom and Dean shifted Jean into one arm, pushing Sam out the door with the other.

"I'll call you when he leaves," Dean agreed, "seeya later." He turned back to the couch, plopping Jean down in the corner. "So, what do you wanna do?"

"Watch a movie! Mom got us a movie with a museum that comes to life at night!"

"I wanna colour!"

"Okay, well why don't we put the movie on, and Mar you can colour while you watch it, sound good? Kel, you mind watching your sister for a minute?" 

He flicked the light on in the second bedroom, digging through the closet for the fold-up activity table. Warm arms slid around his waist and he spun around so he was backed against the wall.

"Shit, Cas," he laughed, "I didn't even hear you come in. Sorry about the kids, I totally forgot they were comin' over today."

"I don't mind," he grinned, pressing a soft kiss to Dean's lips, "you should have a shower, I'll watch them for a few minutes."

-

When Dean got out of the shower, Cas was sitting on the couch with Mary and Jean in his lap and Kelly tucked into his side, colouring books and pencil crayons discarded on the floor.

"Does your museum come to life at night?" Kelly asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, no," Cas shook his head with a faint smile. Dean flopped down next to them.

"Wouldn't want your mummies coming to life, would you?" he asked. Kelly's eyes widened and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Then again, maybe you do," Dean laughed and Cas smiled over at him.

"You can never have too many mummies." 

Kelly thoroughly agreed.

Cas spent the rest of the afternoon with them, watching movies and building impossible Lego structures. He only left in the evening to pick up a spare set of clothes and his things for work and when he returned, he had pizza, much to the delight of Kelly and Mary. 

Dean was in the kitchen, putting slices on plates around the table, when Cas came in, leaning against the counter. He sighed, setting the pizza cutter down and looking up at Cas.

"So I gotta ask, are you gonna stick around?"

"I thought that was fairly obvious," Cas frowned.

"I don't mean tonight, I mean... with me." 

Cas stepped forward with a grin on his face, crowding Dean against the counter, "I have no intention of leaving." Dean's face broke into a grin, and he tugged Cas forward, kissing him tenderly.

For the rest of the week, he and Dean were only apart when one of them had to work.

Cas moved in two months later.


End file.
